She Laces Her Skates
by Shadbolt
Summary: "I've trained my entire life for this moment. A moment that isn't even mine." Bella Swan: NHL hockey player. She has her reasons for pretending to be a man, but what she didn't account for was a good-looking captain that could ruin it all. Rated M for a reason folks.
1. Chapter 1

**So, I wish I can tell you that I'm sticking with this story all the way through, and that I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that this is a success, but that's not the case, and I don't want to lie to you.**

My life is hectic and crazy right now, and I just want to have a little bit of fun writing away whenever I can, if there even is anyone reading this. Truth be told, I don't really care if there is. What I want is to feel happy writing this amusing story. This is my second fanfic, mind the writing style. Sometimes I get confused and don't understand where my storylines are going, and sometimes things really just won't make sense. I'm sorry, bare with me please.

That being said, I will love and appreciate anyone who does take the time to read this, and reviews only help me get better. If you choose to read and review, be critical. I need to pass English class this year, that will only happen if my writing improves tenfold. Or my homework completion. Details, details. 

**Well, uh, I don't have much else to say. Live life, be happy, and I hope you enjoy what I write! **

**Disclaimer: Sorry, I may use the characters, but they aren't mine. Stephanie's puppets are her property, I just borrow them for my own show. **

_**Chapter one: Jesus, try not to blush so much!**_

Hockey.

My world has revolved around that one, beautiful word my entire life. My father's world, my friends worlds, each of them compensated something so I could be where I am today. Or, where I'm gonna be in a few minutes.

Because I'm going to do something reckless, stupid, unrealistic and just plain crazy.

_But if it works, it'll make up for everything that anyone's ever risked, it'll make everything worth it. Besides, I _need _this. Charlie needs this…_

I shook my head, clearing it of thoughts of my father for just a few moments. Charlie wouldn't want me to worry about him right now. Hell, if he knew what I was doing he'd skin me alive…but he'd be proud. I'm sure of that. The moment he'd see me step on the ice all his anger would fade, just like mine would. This is where he put me, where I put myself and where I was meant to be.

_I just have to get there first. I'm two steps away, I can feel it. _

I closed my eyes and visualized what I have to do. Music played in my ears as I grasped my hockey stick in my hand, resting my forehead against the cool material and trying to calm my tense muscles.

I pictured myself taking a slap shot, the puck soaring directly where I want it to go. I can feel the way my blades hits the ice, the way my stick bends to accommodate for the power that I put behind the shot and the way my body twists in the follow through. I see the puck soar through the shining white arena and into the mesh of the net, just past the goalies blocker.

I pictured myself skating down the ice just one step behind the player. My legs pump harder, faster than they ever had too before and somehow I get around them and sweep the puck from under their stick. I take this image and twist it around as I now imagine carrying the puck up the ice. I imagine myself swearing as I push myself harder. I fake out player after player and soon have a meeting with the goalie.

One quick wrist shot; she scores. Like always.

I grinned slyly to myself as I let reality sink in.

I, Isabella Swan, was going to lie, cheat and act her way into the NHL. And use pure skill of course, but that part was obvious.

I opened my eyes and adjusted my wig with a groan, it's scratchy and itchy feeling throwing me off my game.

"Rose, this sucks." I grumbled, tugging at it as I tried desperately to scratch away the annoyed feeling I have whenever this wig was on. Rosalie slapped my hands away from my hair, stuffing my helmet on my head and glaring at me viciously.

"Well sorry, I didn't know someone was going to be a _Princess_ today." She sneered back. I rolled my eyes.

"Bitch."

"Slut."

"Ladies, please. Bella, if you touch your wig one more time…" Alice trailed off threateningly. I nodded, sighing as I readjusted the helmet on my head and did my best to ignore the scratchy feeling.

"Alright, so, the manager has all the paper work that you need. Remember, to use your guy voice-"

"And don't walk like a girl!" Rose cut in.

"Don't flirt with the guys," Alice ordered.

"And Jesus, try not to blush so much."

"Remember not to use any girly language-"

"And use the guy-hug we practiced, no matter how much it hurts the girls." Rose reminded with a small laugh. I groaned, hating the 'guy hug' most of all. Seriously, it was like squishing your boobs with your arm till they were flat against your chest.

Ouch.

"Alright, the Cullen brothers are out there, as well as Jasper Whitlock." Rose said, pulling out her clip board. "These are the last three that you need to impress. The tryout last week with the coaches and owners went well, but now you need to get the captains on your side. As long as you impress them, you're golden." I nodded, slipping my mouth guard on my teeth as they spoke.

"Do not, I repeat, do _not _let all my hard work go to waste. If they find out that you're a girl, I will kill you myself." Alice announced cheerily, though the threat in her voice didn't match her tone at all. I suppressed a laugh at the doll like girl and nodded my head. I stood, equipment on and hockey stick in hand. I turned to leave when Rosalie called my name.

"Oh, and Bobby?" I smiled at my fake name. "Kick some ass."

I smirked, sauntering out of the room and getting myself mentally prepped for this tryout. All the while doing my best to walk like a guy and keep my face neutral. If I did well here then I, Isabella Marie Swan will be the first girl ever to play as a full time rostered player in the NHL on the Boston Bruins.

_Not that they'll know I'm a girl. It's the thought that counts. _

I nodded at the Coach who smiled excitedly at me.

"Bobby! How've you been?" Peter asked. I grinned, clearing my throat silently as I made sure the guy voice was intact.

"Since last week? Great." I said with a deep tone, rolling my eyes. I held my breath until he laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and leading me to the bench for a pep-talk before the tryout. Silently I congradulated myself. I don't care how stupid or messed up or crazy this is. This just might work.

"Seriously Bobby, we were very impressed with you last week. We talked to your manager, Rosalie-"

"And we were impressed with her too!" One of the assistant coaches boasted. I falsely chuckled along with them. Internally though, I rolled my eyes.

_Men. _

"Yes, well, other than being impressed by the chick, your playing style is something we haven't ever seen before. I will admit, I was skeptical when I first saw you. Hell kid, we all were." I nodded in understanding.

If I make this team I will also be the smallest player in the league. I weigh in at one hundred and thirty five pounds and at a height of five foot four. For the record, I will also be the youngest in the league. But we're lying about that too, they think I'm nineteen turning twenty when in reality, I'm seventeen turning eighteen.

_*Start flashback*  
_

"_Men, this is… Bobby, Bobby Swan. He made it past the training camps but didn't want to go onto the draft board. This was an unusual request, but he felt he'd do better at an individual tryout. I have to say, this kid is pretty convincing." Some of the coaches looked bored, others looked slightly pissed off. The owners on the other hand, were looking at me like a piece of meat. _

"_Care to explain yourself, Bobby?" One man asked. I cleared my throat nervously. _

"_Uh, yeah… see, when you look at the draft, you guys look at physical height, weight and strength before you look at the actual skill level of the player. We all know I don't stand a chance in those areas, if you look at me." I tried to joke, the guy voice seemed to fall flat in my ears. I internally chastised myself, but everyone else seemed unfazed. _

_None of them finding my joke funny, I cleared my throat, starting again. _

"_I feel that at this tryout you'll be able to see I am skilled enough to play here. Any of the training coaches will agree with you, I'm one of the best sev-nineteen year olds they've ever seen." I caught myself quickly, almost revealing one of the bigger secrets. _

_Chill, Bella. You have to calm down if you want to play well. _

_A few of the men looked at eachother skeptically, others just blew out large gusts of air and looked slightly exhasperated. The head Coach, Peter Denali looked slightly intrigued. _

"_Alright kid, let's see what you got." He said, hopping the boards and starting the first drill. _

_*End Flashback* _

Needless to say, I blew them out of the water. The owners want me, the coaches want me, now I just have to make the captains want me.

The most difficult challenge yet. All while trying to be a dude. Great.

"Cullens! Whitlock! Get out here," Peter yelled harshly. I stilled, watching the three very recognizable faces start walking along the plexy glass towards us. Three very attractive faces I might add. As soon as that though crossed my mind, I shook it off. I don't know how impressed they'll be if I fall all over them when I'm supposed to be Bobby.

Though my eyes still wandered their faces, one of them in particular stood out to me.

Edward Cullen.

He was the star of the league right now. Top in scoring _and _assists. Fastest player the NHL has ever seen… _until now. _I added cockily, trying to prep myself mentally for the challenge I was sure to face with this tryout.

They all stopped, looking slightly surprised by my appearance. With my obviously girlish facial features, my rather tiny and wiry, but strong muscles, and my height I was _obviously _exactly what they were looking for in a player.

Cue sarcasm.

"Uh, coach, who's the kid?" Emmett Cullen, number eleven finally broke the silence. I narrowed my eyes at him. Kid. Seventeen is _not _a kid. Besides, to him, I'm nineteen.

"Bobby, Bobby Swan. Age nineteen, originally from Forks Washington. He had some pretty high recommendations and aced training camp. We've seen him in two tryouts already, now we thought we'd get you four acquainted with each other." Peter said, smiling a goofy grin at his skeptical looking Captains.

I just kept my face even, flashing a smile at the Coach as I balanced the weight of my body on my hockey stick. He suddenly clapped his hands together very loudly, causing me to jump and my stick to, almost, tumble to the ice. Edward Cullen, number ten reached out with blinding speed and caught it. He handed it back to me wordlessly.

_Huh, impressive reflexes. _

"Thanks man." I mumbled in the guy tone. He shrugged, brushing it off as I felt my face heat in embarrassment. I remembered one of the rules that Rose said, trying to keep my blush under control. Too late now.

"Okay! So, what do you want to do from here?" The coach asked the captains. All three of them looked at each other, slightly startled at being put on the spot. I tried to make myself feel less awkward as I waited for their response.

Act like a guy. Act like a guy. Act like a guy.

"Uh, how about the normal routine?" Edward asked, looking around for any objections. Everyone seemed in agreement.

"Alright, Swan?" he verified my name. I nodded. "Awesome. Just some basic stuff. We need to see your shooting, skating and speed. If I want you on the team, I need to see how your skills will balance out the skills of other players. I'm gonna be upfront with you from the start though," he said slowly, enunciating his words strongly and looking to his other teammates.

"Giving it to you straight, you've got some hard competition. We either get you, or we get first draft pick. The draft has some strong players in it this year, some big fighters too. Quite frankly, you don't seem to have the size to make it in this league. I don't know if there really _is _a speed fast enough to make up for that… Well, we're gonna give you a fair tryout, but I'm telling you right now to leave everything you have on the table. If you want to make it in this league, you're gonna have to seriously impress us today. Me and the boys especially, 'cause it's you'd be our final choice and I don't wanna waste it. I'm going for the cup this season, and I plan to get it for my team." The two players beside him jumped and hooted in support, I smirked.

_Underestimating me already, are we? _

"Get what I'm saying?" He asked, his voice full of self-righteousness and douche bag. I nodded, faking a defeated look as I skated past him. The coaches had lined up twenty pucks along the blue line for me to shoot.

"Coach says you play left dee?" He asked. I nodded in confirmation, holding his green eyes and doing my best to keep my composure. I didn't know if I wanted to kiss him or whack him upside the head with my hockey stick.

"Well kid, let's see your slap shot." Emmett said, slapping my back twice so hard I had to catch myself before stumbling. Jasper noticed, smirked, but otherwise stayed silent as he had been before. I blushed, ducking my head and thanking God for the cool air. Maybe my face would chill faster

I stood in front of the first puck, balancing my weight back and forth between my skates.

"Where do you want it?" I demanded, throwing the stick horizontal behind my back and twisting, stretching out my lower back muscles. They looked at me, slightly confused. Emmett looked at me like I was downright stupid.

"Uh, in the net?" he said with a boisterous laugh. The other men snickered alongside him. Peter though, tipped his head up and looked at me curiously down his nose.

_You're in for a surprise, idiots. I'm not near as stupid and incapable as you think I am. _I thought towards the cocky figures watching me.

I laughed freely, not with them, but at them.

My veins fueled with adrenaline from their challenge and anger at their doubt, I looked up to see Rose smiling at me from the stands. That knowing smile.

_Let's do this. _

I raised my stick and in a blinding moment, staring at the top left hand corner as I released all the force and anger I had pent up on the puck. I watched it soar quick in the net before I released another, and another and another.

My breath was coming out in uneven gasps as my stick connected with the ice, hard and blindingly fast. Every shot hit the exact same spot in the net, like it always does when I want it too.

"Doubting. Me. Ha. Idiots…" I spit between shots. On the last shot I hit it with everything I had, it hit the net at a speed I was sure was the fastest I'd ever shot. I just caught the net swish as it hit, hearing the bottom half of my stick clang as it broke on the ice. I sighed, collecting the pieces and waving to Rose.

She threw a new stick at me and I thanked her with a smile, turning towards the open mouthed men that were staring at me. Peter turned to the manager.

"Tell me you clocked that!" He hissed. The manager nodded, furiously writing down the numbers on his little note pad. I leaned forward curiously, wondering what speed I got.

"One hundred and five, sir." He said, his eyes sparkling. The coach swore, turning to look at me with obvious surprise. Emmett whistled low, and Jasper offered me a sly grin. Edward on the other hand, started lining up more pucks.

"You've been tested for steroids kid?" He asked tersely. I heard the Coach go to protest in my defense, but the manager beat him to it.

"He's clean."

"Crossbar and down." He said, his emerald green eyes boring into mine. "If you thought you were going to impress me that easily, think again. There are lots of players in this league that can shoot. I want the one that can shoot _best. _Not just the top left corner. You're gonna work today, and you're gonna work fucking hard if you want to be on this team. You better be a fast skater, a damn fine shooter, and you better have that spark to you. Is that clear?" He said, he had skated towards me as he was talking. His gloved hand shoved my chest but I held my ground. I looked up at him with a steely gaze, spitting my answer roughly through my teeth.

"Crystal."

"Crossbar and down." He spit back, challenging my tone. I shoved my mouth guard back in my mouth and sent my mind into its mental zone. I spotted where on the crossbar I wanted to hit and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath through my nose before I let my gaze zero in. Two strides to the puck before I raised my stick back and connected with the black piece of rubber.

It pinged on the crossbar with a familiar sound and was sent flying down into the red line that crossed the net. I knew before Edward skated over to it that it was centered perfectly on the line.

I'd practiced that shot for years.

"Left post."

She shoots, she hits.

"Right post." The resounding _ping! _of my shot flew around the rink.

Too easy, bud. Challenge me.

"Uh, left post redirected to the right post?" Emmett called out. I turned and raised an eyebrow at him, turning back to Edward in question. He shrugged as if to say "Sure, why not?" I nodded in agreement, my eyes zeroing in on what angle I'd have to hit the post.

I took a deep breath, pulling the stick back and hitting the puck with less force, but more accuracy. I watched with a smile as it pinged off the left post, hit the right and drifted slowly back to Edwards skates. He looked at me, his features thoroughly pissed off. Not matching the very impressed expressions of everyone else.

"Skating." He ordered. I nodded, motioning Rose to chuck me my Gatorade bottle as I grabbed a quick drink. I watched Emmett eyeing her appreciatively.

"You want her number?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow. He whirled towards me, much to my surprise a tinge of red collecting on his cheeks as he smiled sheepishly.

"Dang, she's not yours?" He demanded in surprise. " I shook my head.

"Like a sister. Whatever the results of all this shit, I'll get you her cell." I flinched as he pulled me in for the guy hug, my arm crossing my body and squishing my already crushed boobs to no end.

_Sorry girls, you're probably going to be flattened to my body after today. _

"Swan, attentiveness is a good skill to have." Edward barked. I felt my stomach drop nervously, skating over to his aggravated form.

"Alright, red line, blue line, blue line, red line, to the other end. Simple, just four times. Got it?" I nodded. He had me doing all the basics. I heard a whistle blow loud in my ear as my legs started pumping. I didn't want to exert all the energy I had on such a simple activity, so I started off easy. I skated back and he rolled his eyes at me.

"Congratulations, you can fucking skate. Faster, Swan. I wanna see speed." I narrowed my eyes in aggravation, mentally flipping him the bird as I got myself into position.

_What a fucking prick. _

_A good looking prick but hell, still a prick. _

"Again." He spit, blowing the whistle hard once as I let myself fly.

_Faster, Bella, faster! If you can't skate fast, they won't take a little girl like you. Simple as that. _

I got back, panting slightly and in record time. I turned to see the coaches impressed features, Emmett looked shocked as hell. Jasper kept his face composed, but his eyes were gleaming. What was going on in that mind of his?

I turned to see Edward, and he somehow managed to keep the pissed off look on his face. Wow, that must be a talent.

"Again. _Faster._"

Whistle.

Skate.

Whistle.

Skate.

Whistle.

Skate.

My lungs heaving, I skated back to him as fast as my muscles would let me. I pushed and pushed and pushed hard, again and again he had me skate. Again and again, I went as fast as I could. I stopped in front of him, panting but getting back into position. I let out a strangled groan as I watched the whistle raise to his mouth again. Everything in me froze, denying that I could skate anymore.

_True athletes push past their physical strength with their mental. They tell themselves they aren't tired, they aren't weak. They convince themselves to do what is physically impossible… _

"Eddie, what the fuck bro? Swan, grab a drink. It's my turn for some drills." I heard Emmett call, breaking me from my self-motivation to see everyone scowling at Edward. I was being waved over, and slowly I skated there. Rose and Alice stood with angry faces, handing me my Gatorade and a towel. I wiped my face clear of sweat, trying to compose myself as Rosalie glared at me.

"He has you working harder than you ever fucking will in a game. I swear to God, Bella, if he keeps being an asshole I'm gonna shove my foot so hard up his-"

"It's fine, Rose. It's what I expected." I whispered back, cutting off her rant before it could be taken too far. "And for Christ's sake, call me Bobby."

I skated over to Emmett. His drills were simple, really. They were the basic practice drills that he wanted me to ace. After a few rounds of simple stuff, though, he wanted me to add my own flare to it. At the end when I had to shoot, he wanted me to yell where I was gonna hit the net first. He wanted me to try the course with my eyes shut at one point… yeah, that one didn't work out too terribly well…

"Okay, now! Backwards, and every three steps you have to spin a full three sixty! Three, two, one… go!" I laughed, nodding as I started skating through the cones.

One, two, three, spin!

"Okay, okay, enough, enough!" The coach said through fits of laughter. I turned towards him, smiling brightly and stopping where I was.

"What, want me to restart?" I asked in slight confusion. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head at me.

"No, Bobby, Jasper wants to do a drill or two, then we'll have a meeting with the captains and coaches." I nodded, feeling my stomach drop slightly. I turned to see Jasper skating towards me, my brain set in distinct determination.

I had to do good here. I had too. Jasper kept staring at me like he knew something and I was starting to squirm. What was his problem anyway?

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from spitting "Take a picture" and stared at him expectantly.

"Y'know, I saw this move once…" He said slowly, trailing off as he languidly moved a hockey puck around with his stick. I cocked an eyebrow at him, waiting for more.

"I remember watching the player slide the puck through his legs and the legs of the other player, spun off them and jumped over the hockey stick of the other player all two seconds. It was beautiful, really."

_Cat's out of the bag now. That? That is _my _move. _

"Oh, you've seen that too, eh?" I asked him shakily. He raised a knowing eyebrow at me, his eyes challenging me to lie.

"You know what I'm talking about?"

"A guy uh, played with, did it."

"Oh, yeah? Think you can demonstrate it?" He asked. I shook my head no, but he stopped the motion.

"If you can, I'll do everything in my power to get you on this team." I watched Edward freeze and Emmett smile. I slowly skated closer to Jasper. When I was sure that I could talk quietly enough, I met his hard blue eyes.

"What're you playing at, Whitlock?" I hissed. He smiled, tipping his head.

"It'd be good to have a real player on the team, ma'am. You seem unknowing that my step-sister played for your team, Bella Swan, for three years. I followed you as a player, hoping one day that you'd end up in the women's professional league. Little did I know you'd end up here. Now, I meant what I said, if you can pull off that move, I'll do everything I can to get you on this team. We'll talk more later, after you show them what you've got. The coaches already want you and they don't know half of what you're capable of, let's give them a taste." He drawled the last part. I looked around, nodded, and backed off. He stood in front of the net and passed me the puck.

"I had to explain to him the move again. I wanna see if it can be done." Jasper explained to everyone.

_Ha, if it _can_ be done. I invented it, mastered it, perfected it. Watch and learn, suckers. _

Whitlock wasn't going easy, he challenged me right away and I had to force him back by faking left and going right. I held the puck back, waiting for the perfect opportunity to do it. I faked him out again, spinning a complete three sixty as I held the puck delicately on the edge of my blade. I could hear Rose murmering to herself, I could hear the held breaths as I dropped the puck again behind me. Someone swore, thinking I made a mistake.

Surprise Coach, I don't make mistakes.

From behind I tapped the puck through both of our legs, forcing him to do a complete turn around as I spun the other way. Like playing jump rope, I hopped over his stick blade and made a break for the net.

"Right corner!" I called as I released the puck, watching it sail and fall exactly where I wanted it to go.

I turned around to see the stunned faces of the coach, the manager and the entire captain staff.

Edwards face was surprised and slightly happy. He skated over, pulling his hand from his glove and I mimicked his action. He grasped my small hand in his and smiled, saying loud enough for everyone in the arena to hear-

"That's the spark I was looking for. Welcome to the team, Swan."

~Q~

I stared at Jasper Whitlock as he sat in my living room, Alice and Rosalie on the couch with me and him on the chair straight across from us. My girls sat and glared.

"Well, you guys make yourselves acquainted, I need to call Charlie and grab a shower before we do anything. Cullen's skating killed me." I moaned, standing to see the wide eyed expressions of the ladies before me.

"You're leaving us?" Alice hissed, clutching at my arm. I heard Jasper bite back a chuckle.

"For twenty minutes. He's not a murderer, Alice. Relax. Get his number or something, work your charm. I'll be back." I hissed, pulling my sleeve from her grasp and walking to the bathroom, grabbing a pair of jean short-shorts and a hoodie to wear. I turned on the hot water and didn't contain my squeal of excitement and happy dance.

"I'm a Bruin! I'm a Bruin! I'm a Bruin!" I cheered, dancing and spinning around my bathroom with my arms in the air.

"I, Isabella Swan am the first girl to play in the NHL! And the youngest right now, and the shortest right now, and I can get money for Charlie, and he'll be okay! And I'm a Bruin!" I shrieked, still dancing. I jumped out of my skin when I heard a knock on the bathroom door.

"Uh, Bella? Are you okay in there?" Rose asked hesitantly. I cleared my throat, trying to gain some composure as I called back.

"Yeah, just uh, fell? I'll be out in a bit!" I bit my lip, looking in the mirror to see my glowing face.

_I'm a Bruin, I'm a Bruin, I'm a Bruin! _I internally chanted as the hot water washed over my body, eliminating the soreness and sweat for the moment and leaving me with a satisfied, happy feeling.

I'm a NHL hockey player, a member of the Boston Bruins.

_Thank you Lord! _

I turned the water off after I felt I smelled better and threw on my clothes, trying to keep a straight face as I walked into the living room. No one bought it, and after a second I let my smile break loose.

Alice squealed, Rose cheered and Jasper just smirked at us.

After a few more minutes of dancing, shrieking and squealing, we all turned to stare at Jasper. I ran my fingers through my hair nervously, and he smiled.

"Your secrets safe with me as long as you can keep it." He said after the moment of awkward silence. I smiled slightly at him.

"I'm good enough to do this?" I asked hesitantly. He rolled his eyes.

"We both know the answer to that. You're better than most of the men in this league, and I think that's my biggest worry." I cocked an eyebrow at him.

"Why is that a problem?" I demanded, my head tilted as I tried to understand. He leaned forward, staring at me intently and clasping his hands together when his elbows rested on his knees.

"Look at the privacy that Edward has, or Emmett. Undeniably two of the best players in the league. Both of them get free custom made equipement. That means shirtless days." He said, raising his eyebrows at me and staring intently at my chest. I cleared my throat awkwardly, crossing my arms and glaring at him. He regained his composure, looking back up to my eyes with a small smirk before getting serious again.

"Fans have stalked them lots before, some have even followed them home. What are you gonna do when that fan breaks into your house looking for Bobby, only to find his doppelganger in the form of Isabella?" I frowned, pissed that I didn't think of that before.

"What're you gonna do when we shower after games? When we go out for drinks and pick up girls? When Emmett asks you the size of your dick?" I burst out a surprised chuckle.

"He wouldn't."

"He will."

"Well what did you answer with?" Alice blurted out loudly, looking at Jasper. I watched as Rosalies mouth dropped open, matching my expression as we gaped at Alice. She seemed to realize her mistake after a moment and blushed furiously, staring sheepishly at the ground.

"That's for me to know, and you to find out." Jasper drawled to our surprise, winking at Alice. She giggled, losing some of her embarrassment as Rosalie pretended to choke on air, talking to Jasper in an attempt to change the subject back to the matter at hand.

"Kay, gross. So, you know Bellas a girl. You know she's seventeen-" Now it was Jaspers turn to choke on air, only this time it didn't look fake.

"You're _what?_" He gasped out, Alice ran over and patted his back as he coughed. I frowned at him.

"Uh, a girl? We covered this already Jasper-"

"You played on my sisters team when she was twenty three. Theres no way that you're seventeen_." _I shrugged my shoulders, looking at the ground as I heard Jasper blow out a breath of frusteration.

"You have to keep my secret Jasper! You have to let me play! I _need _this!" I begged, looking at the slightly defeated expression on his face. He groaned, running his fingers through his hair as he looked at me.

"I dunno, I thought you were a legal adult. That way if you got in trouble-"

"I'll be a legal adult in two months."

"What about school?"

"This is a paying job."

"Bella, what about _highschool? _How the fuck did you even get this apartment anyway?" He raised his arms in demonstration, looking around the shitty place as if he was looking for an adult hiding around the corner.

"Charlie thinks I got a scholarship to a boarding school, family friends own the building. I got this room cheap."

"You've got your whole life ahead of you, why now? Why not after two years of practice, when you're even better? Why at age seventeen would you play against thirty five year old men, risk getting injured and never be able to play for the rest of your life? Huh? Why is this so important to you?" He all but yelled. I looked at Alice and Rose, both of them were silent.

He didn't need to know the answer to that, not yet.

"Will you keep my secret Jasper? Will you let me play?" I asked finally. My voice fought to stay even as I felt like I was dangling off a wire, one hundred feet in the air. I gripped my composure like it was that wire, like it was life or death. He held my eyes, looking around my apartment for a second and his eyes landed on Alice.

I don't know what it was, but something passed between them. It was like a connection, a spark somehow. Whatever it was in Alice's eyes got him to look at me and nod.

"Of course, darlin', I just gotta make sure you don't get hurt. I'll be responsible for you." He silenced my protests with a look and waved goodbye and walked out. When the door clicked, I turned to Alice, looking at the love-struck expression on her face. We were all quiet, my eyes stayed on the brown carpet in my rugged apartment building as the silence continued. My own thoughts enveloped me when little Alice broke the consuming quiet.

"I definitely need to find out how big his dick is."

And we laughed, and laughed, and laughed. Because you know what? That's what best friends are for.


	2. Chapter 2

**So, yeah. I feel dumb apologizing for this not coming sooner, because I warned you all ahead of time that this wouldn't be updated regularly, if at all. But still, here I am, feeling guilty because some really kind souls decided to read this and actually review. I don't know how to respond to that, but thank you. Your support means a ton that you don't even realize, and I hope you understand how much it means to a reader to see THAT email in their inbox, the one that's labeled "review". **

**I'm gonna be up all night, we're doing a Thirty Hour Famine for a local charity. So, I might get one or two chapters off tonight. Hope you enjoy this!**

IMPORTANT PART OF THIS MESSAGE: This does NOT mean that this story will be continued to the end, if at all after this. I've just decided that I needed to write again, and this is what happened. Please, please please please, don't wait anxiously for an update or whatever if you actually really like this story. I feel terrible, but I can't promise that will happen.

Disclaimer: Obviously Twilight is not mine, if you think that, you really need to get a life and learn to read, because this isn't near as beautiful as the work of art that is Twilight. 

**Chapter two: Huh, I really did look like a guy**

I stood in front of the mirror in the girls washroom of the Boston Gardens arena and slowly started wrapping the tensor bandage around me, from my hips to my chest. I wrapped it around my stomach to make myself look fuller, my small waist being too feminine to pass for a man. I put on some make up, effectively hiding some of my blush if the incident ever occurs again. Which it will, it always does. I stuffed my hair in a bun and slid the wig over my head. I set the wig glue in place and put make-up around the edges so it looked natural. Finally, I bushed up my eyebrows with a pencil, making them look like they were more manly than my thin ones were.

When I effectively looked like a guy, I slid an under armor shirt over my head and threw a men's sweater on with my track pants and running shoes. I looked myself up and down in the mirror and smiled.

Huh, I really did look like a guy.

I hefted my hockey bag over my shoulder and peeked around the corner, making sure that no one was watching as I made my way out of the girls washroom and to the change room where the rest of the men were. This was the first time the whole team got to see the roster, other than the captains of course. Jasper was excited for me to see who I would be playing with this year.

I pushed open the changeroom door hesitantly to see the room filled with about twenty people, none of the captains in sight yet. They all looked up at me from their laced skates or IPods and threw me a guy smile. Few cheered, as I imagined they'd done for every player that walked through the door. I couldn't keep the massive smile off my face as I sat down next to a guy probably twice my size. He grinned at me, it was boyish and goofy.

"Quil, Quil Attera." He said, holding his hand out.

_Handshake, also something I'd practiced._

"Bobby, Bobby Swan."

"Ah, you're the tryout kid." He said, smiling and shaking his head. "That took guts to recommend man, I could never. I was lucky enough to get drafted two years ago. I just got traded though, off the Canadiens." I flinched, shaking my head. He chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. The rivalry is pretty bad eh? This is your first year, you'll learn pretty quickly that teams blur together. It's not even the team you want to beat anymore, it's the points you want. We gotta get points for the playoffs, that's all we're going for." I nodded, pretending to understand.

Hey, as long as I get paid I'm happy.

"S'this your first job?" he asked me. I grinned, shaking my head.

"Nah, I worked three jobs a week before this." I replied, pulling my pants off to reveal my very manly boxers. I slipped into my under armor and my jock. Then I pulled on my hockey pants and shin pads. I turned to see Quil raising his eyebrows at me.

"Three jobs? Sucks. What for?" I flinched, keeping my eyes down.

"Bills n' stuff…" I replied quietly, he nodded in what seemed to be understanding, and I felt my anger flare slightly as I looked away, jaw clenched tight.

_Like he could understand. He would never understand what it's like to- _

"Boys! Glad to see you're all here!" Emmett crowed as he waltzed into the room. He was already half dressed, IPod earphones tumbling down his massive body. I couldn't help but smile at his carefree attitude. It was nice, to be in the company of someone so… happy.

I liked it.

And he had called Rosalie and asked her out, so she's been over the moon ever since. I had to like the guy if he made my best friend that happy, seriously.

"We wanted to talk to you before Peter comes in and just congratulate many of you on becoming a member of the future Stanley Cup champions." Edward said, his voice even, but the sexy smirk on his lips told he was more excited than he was letting on.

_Wait, sexy smirk?_

The whole room erupted in loud, manly cheers. Hockey sticks were banged on the ground and we all hooted and hollered, me doing my best to keep my voice deep. Jasper laughed and quieted us down.

"Alright, alright. Calm down ya crazies. We're being serious when we say we're going for gold this year. That means you have to be serious, dedicated, and willing to work harder than you have for any other team. The captains are taking the reins this year when it comes to training and practices. Coaches create the plays they think will work, but honestly _we,_" he motioned to Edward, Emmett and himself. "have control. That means that whenever you fuck up, we control the punishment. Got it? We need to keep the owners happy and paying for us too," He looked around the room. There were loud, boisterous answers and I mumbled a quiet response in understanding, staring intently at the look on Edward Cullens face.

It was hard, determined and set. He wanted to win and I had no doubt with the level of skill on this team that we could accomplish it. And much to my surprise, the look on his face was utterly and undoubtedly _sexy. _

_Really fucking sexy. _

"Alright men! Suit up! We work our asses off today and play good when the season rolls around. Besides, we have some team bonding to do later." Emmett said with a gleam in his eyes. I felt nerves pang themselves across my stomach.

_Team bonding? _Will I have to be shirtless? Or lift really heavy things? What the hell do I do if that happens?!

I relaced my skates, making sure they were the perfect set between cutting off my circulationand just tight enough to wiggle my toes without the fear of them falling off.

I chatted with some of the men there and honestly, the conversation was easy. You see, I'd been a 'guy' my entire life. Not as I was now, obviously, but in a different way. I wasn't the girl who played for the girly hockey teams. I wanted to be one of the best, so I played for the best teams. In my area, all the good teams were boy's teams. Hence, being 'one of the guys' my entire life. Up until I played for the same team as Tanya Whitlock, I was always with the boys. So the conversation wasn't something I didn't know how to handle. In fact, it was easy. I found it easier than talking to girls.

The age difference was a little off putting for me, but they all considered me to be nineteen.

I made my way out of the change room and stood beside Edward Cullen as he stared out at the ice that was being zambonied. I could see his reflection in the plexy glass before me and I couldn't help but stare at his features.

Everything about him was perfect to look at.

His high, strong cheekbones matched a perfect jaw line. His lips were full, but not to the extent of them being girlish. His eyes were almond shaped, but wide and the most beautiful green I'm sure artists wished they could imitate in their artwork. His hair was unruly as he hadn't set his helmet on it yet. And when he turned and flashed me a smile, my breath caught slightly at the perfect set of teeth that I was faced with.

I managed to keep my composure and grin back.

"S'a little surreal, huh?" He asked me, turning slightly but still keeping his eyes on the ice. "That _this _is your career. _This _is what you have to do till the day you can't play anymore. And when that happens? You get to retire with the best retirement fund you'll ever dream of. It doesn't matter if you retire in a week, you're set for life." He grinned, shaking his head and laughing slightly. "I fucking love my job."

_You're set for life… that is, if I wasn't committing multiple crimes. Not only sneaking into the league, but forging documents and probably impersonation. _

_Wonderful. _

"Don't get me wrong. It's a lot of work." He said, chuckling slightly as he shook his head. "A shit load of work. But you knew that, hell, it might be easier than what you put yourself through trying to get here." He said, bumping my shoulder. I felt my face blanch.

_Fuck, he knows. We're screwed, the secrets out, he's gonna call the coaches and tell them I'm a gir-_

"Coach told me you train five hours a day, six days a week. Man, that's fucked. I mean respect to you and all, but most guys here train three hours a day, five days a week."

"Seven." I mumbled. He raised his eyebrows at me and I shrugged my shoulders. I pulled off the toughest guy voice I had and managed a sheepish smile.

"Five hours a day, seven days a week. My coach always laughed at me, gave me number fifty-seven for it…" I trailed off nervously at the surprised look on his face. He shook his head slowly back and forth, looking slightly disappointed.

"Fuck man, I hope this league is worth it for you…" He said before stuffing his helmet on his head and skating away. I still heard him mumble under his breath.

"_Fifty-seven…shit…"_

I followed him onto the ice, not understanding his oddness but not wanting to talk about it either. I just wanted to play, plain and simple. I wanted to show them what I've got so I can earn the ice time that I need.

Me and Rose went over all the paper-work and contracts earlier. I couldn't get the shit-eating grin off my face as I signed everything. I ended up signing a one year contract with the Boston Bruins, I'd made two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year with bonus's and free merchandise. The paycheck was subject to get higher if the owners felt it to be needed.

_Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is just enough to pay the bills that need to be paid. If I can get signed next year for just a little bit more, then maybe things will improve more. But for now, we'd have to make do. _

_I won't buy a new apartment or anything. I already have one near the arena. My car is good to last me a few more years. So that means that if I cut back on the amount of food I buy and gas, the money should be just enough…_

What if things don't add up? What if I can't help Charlie?

I pulled my stick back without thinking and slammed it against the boards. I immediately looked up at the heads that turned and smiled sheepishly, I mumbled something pathetic like "I tripped" but other than that everyone just shook their heads. I felt my face flush and I watched Jasper skate over.

"Uh, Bobby…" He trailed off, looking at my stick to make sure I didn't break it.

"Everything's fine. When's this gonna start?" I asked icily. His features were worried and he held my eyes. After a moment, he told me it was going to start right now. I nodded, skating over to the bigger group of people to see Emmett and Edward start to skate over as well.

"Alright, basic training. Tommorow we hit the gym, today we just get our legs back from our few weeks off. Got it?" We all nodded. The practice was basically just an easy skate. I found myself wanting to push harder, I didn't like how easy we were being trained.

Everything felt really… lazy.

We were on the ice for two hours before they called it a day. It was a good time to scope out the teammates and see how everyone played. We all got undressed and ended up making our way to Edward and Emmett's penthouse apartment for 'team bonding'

When we got there Emmett had a bunch of VHS tapes set up in front of his flat screen TV. Edward pulled out some beers and handed them out, skipping over me completely.

"Hey!" I protested. He raised an eyebrow at me, everyone in the room laughed at the realization that I wasn't legal drinking age yet.

"C'mon Eddie, don't be such a prick! Give the kid a beer, you're barley able to drink anyway." He called as he fiddled with the TV. Edward scowled.

"I'm twenty one, he's not. None of you assholes gave me an easy time with it!" He complained. There was more boisterous laughter from a few men as they all recalled past memories. I couldn't help but smile softly.

This was my team for the next year.

This was my career.

This was everything.

I stayed silent as the room protested Edward until he sighed, beer in hand as he went to the fridge to get another beer. We all cheered as it was placed in my hand and I held it up, the room cheered again as I took a big swig, pulling it away from my mouth and trying not to scowl at the foul taste.

_I never said I _liked _drinking, just that I wanted to be a part of the team atmosphere. _

I could only have one anyway. If I even risked getting drunk things could go very, very wrong.

Two minutes later we all sat infront of the TV, some of us sprawled on the floor and others stuffed on the couch. Few stood back against the walls as Emmett stood up.

"Alright fuckers." He announced, a wry smile formed on my lips at his language. "This year ain't about losing, or doing good. This years about bringing the Cup home, where it belongs!" We all raised our beers and he kept talking. "Now, I know that some of you aren't from Boston. Some recently moved here, others moved countries to play for this team. But the fact is, this is _our _team now. I don't care where you're from or where your parents are from, your loyalty lies with the Boston Bruins. Any protests?" We all shook our head as Jasper stepped up to speak.

"It'll be a hard season. You'll hate us, you'll hate your teammates, you'll hate your line partners for a little while. We're going to push you _harder. _If you're good, you're gonna be better. If you're fast, you're gonna be faster. If you're strong, hell, you're gonna be _stronger. _I don't want this season to end with me picking who I want to drop next year, I want this season to end with a hell of a decision before me. Got it?" We all nodded, and Edward spoke up to speak.

_Damn, I just want to run my fingers through his hair. How does someone get _that _beautiful? _

"We're going to be straight with you all, this is a career now. I think we've only got one newbie on this team and he's in for one hell of a surprise, isn't he boys?" They all cheered and I groaned. Of course, nothing in life comes easy. "That means you work here like you need to earn your money. You play hard and you'll play, end of story. This goes to all of you, if you aren't trying I will pull your sorry asses off the ice. If I see heads hanging, then you're in the locker room while someone else takes your playing time. I don't care if you're the best player this leagues ever seen," His eyes briefly flashed to me, and I felt my stomach flutter. Is it hot in here?

"I don't care if you're the worst player this leagues ever seen. If I want to play you, I'll play you. If I don't think the time is right, I won't. We all suffered that loss from the Canadians last playoff season, and I don't want that to happen again. I swear to God if I lose to those French fuckers one more time…" He trailed off and shook his head, few laughing, few completely serious. Most stayed silent.

"We're gonna watch some game tape, talk positions, and become a team boys. Any of you against what we said today?" Young and older shook their heads. "Good! Let's get this started!" He announced, rubbing his hands together and putting in the first TV recorded Stanley Cup win for the Boston Bruins.

About an hour later, this happened-

_I knew you were trouble when you walked in  
Shame on me yeah you took me places that I've never been  
Now I'm lying on the cold hard groud_

My cell phone rang. I fumbled to answer it and make the horrifying Taylor Swift song stop. When all the men in the room head's turned, I smiled sheepishly at them.

"Girlfriend messed with my phone." I lied quickly. Most accepted this answer, few of them shooting me disbelieving looks. I sighed, leaving the room and answering the call with a slightly annoyed voice.

"Hello?"

"_Bells? Is that you?"_ Charlies voice rang in my ear and instantly I felt sorry for using such a snippy tone. I cleared my throat as I slipped into the elevator of the apartment.

"Yeah Dad, it's me. Sorry, I had something in my throat. How are you?" I asked worriedly. He sighed.

"_Nothings changed Bells, if that's what you're asking." _

"That's not-"

"_You need to stop worrying about me. Boarding school will be good for you, you know that? It'll be good for you to get some independence, you can't take care of me your whole life."_ He whispered sadly. I felt the lump that was continuously in my heart rise to my throat.

_Oh Daddy. I won't lose you. _

"Dad, it's gonna be okay though, right?" I asked desperately, not waiting for an answer. "I mean, I'm sure money will look up enough for the surgeries you need, then everything will be okay." I know my voice cracked, I tried to control it.

I'm making the money, Dad. Don't lose hope, I'll get you through this.

"_It's not me I'm ever worried about, Bells. I'm gonna die one day, we've had this talk before-" _

"I'm not going to let it happen on a hospital bed, Dad! Not at forty three! Not this early, not now! We've _talked about this before." _I threw his words back at him. "Just let me handle this, please. Please Daddy, just let me handle it. I need you, I need you as a coach, as a Dad. Please, please just… just stop talking about death, okay? The doctor said you'd be okay if we can afford the surgery. I'll get the money, Dad, don't worry." I ran my fingers through my wig, my breath heaving from my chest.

I need the money. I need to save him.

My teacher, my only parent left, my coach. I need him in this life.

I turned to see Jasper staring at me, his eyes as hard as his features. I looked away, blowing out a deep breath as the back of my head connected with a wall.

"I gotta go, Dad. I love you. I-I have a leave from school soon, I'll come visit. Don't worry, I'm sure money will look up. I'll figure it out." I heard his pained sigh. In the background I could hear the beeping of his heart monitor, I could hear the machines clanging and I could hear him shift uncomfortably in the hospital bed he's been forced too.

"_I love you too, Bells. Bye sweetie." _

I disconnected the phone and Jasper just stared at me. His eyes were hard and confused as he stared from me to the phone. I took a deep breath, sinking against the wall.

"That's why I didn't go into the girl's league, Jasper. There wasn't enough money, there isn't enough time." I whispered brokenly. I felt my chest heaving as he stared at me, but I just stared through him. The image of my father, stuck in bed pale and frail was still behind my eyelids.

Just like it always was.

"The cancer spread from his arms to his lungs. They're doing everything they can, but we couldn't afford surgeries anymore and insurance won't cover it. They're trying to keep it under control until we can come up with the money. In a week I'll tell my Dad I got an anonymous mass donation. Then I'll tell him that the insurance companies pulled through for us. Then I'll say I saved up some money. I'll tell him every lie I have too, I need him to get better. I don't have anyone else." I slumped against the wall, my back sliding down the smooth paint until my butt hit the floor. I turned my head and smiled morosely.

"That's why I'm in this league at seventeen, Jasper. I don't have any other options." The sentence slipped from my lips brokenly and I heard him suck in a sharp breath. I looked up to see him running his fingers through his hair and his eyes closed.

"Please. I know you already agreed, but please keep my secret. If you had any doubt in your mind how important this is to me, please know now." I begged, gripping his hand in two of mine and pleading with him with my eyes. He looked down at me, meeting my eyes and searching my face. Finally, he pursed his lips.

"On one condition," he said. I nodded furiously.

"Anything." I said surly. He grinned.

"I want that little firecrackers number." He said with a wink, effectively lightening the mood and making me laugh through the tears welling in my eyes. I nodded, sniffling slightly and he gave me a sad smile.

"I'll do everything I can to keep you on this team and to keep your secret safe. I promise darlin'." He swore. I smiled gratefully before turning off my cell phone and following Jasper back into the elevator and into the apartment again. Edward threw me a confused look and I raised my beer to him with a cocky smirk. He laughed, dodging the men lying on the floor watching the re-run hockey game before clapping me on the back strongly. I smiled weakly, trying not to stumble as his massive had clapped me hard again. Ouch, being a guy was fucking tough.

I kept stealing glances at Edward, trying to keep it as subtle as possible. It was impossible not to be attracted to the man, that was for sure. With his movie star looks, he was physically made to be a celebrity. Even the way he talks makes you want to be near him. He's the biggest name in the NHL, and the highest paid. His apartment emphasizes that fact clearly though…

I sighed, shaking my head and sticking close to Jasper for the rest of the night. A few hours later everyone was laughing and piss drunk, wanting to call in strippers and wings. I took that as my cue to leave, fist bumping and man hugging a few of the guys. I got a round of congratulations for making it to the big leagues before I slipped out of the building and into my truck.

I got my first paycheck in a week. In a week, I'll send it to the hospital and ask them when they can schedule the first operation and up his medicines if possible. We can do this. We can make this work.

I'll save you Charlie. If it's the last thing I do, I'll save you.


	3. Chapter 3

**So, as you can see, I actually managed to get another chapter done at three in the morning last night.  
That being said, I was doing a Thirty Hour Famine, and it was three in the morning. I haven't really proof read this chapter, so, bare with me.**

I hope you enjoy this third chapter as we see a little bit of a strange Edward and a little bit of the true seventeen year old Isabella, she needs that sometimes you know. Being close to her age myself, I'd love to spend some quality time with an NHL player in a cold arena at three in the morning.

**As someone commented, yes. The ideas of this NHL hockey team are very unethical and unrealistic. I'd like to remind you that this is my story and I'm happy you're enjoying it enough to comment. Being an amateur hockey player myself who has studied up on this, I do understand how the NHL teams actually function and I do recognize that none of this is even remotely close to what happens in the wonderful world of business and talent in the draft picks. I also recognize that Captains would NOT have much or really any power on a professional hockey team in the long run. That being said, we're going with the way I like it, because this is the way I want it to be, and this is the way I'll get chapters out.**

So, yeah. I'd like to think I can get another chapter after this. We'll see? 

**Disclaimer: Get a life, bro. I obviously don't own Twilight, ya crazy kid. **

**Chapter three: Some form of Irish tap dancing **

I pushed myself hard as I raced from end to end, stopping sharply before racing back to the other goal line. I had the parachute attached to my back, creating just enough muscle building resistance to make me faster in a game. It was three in the morning, everyone had left the Gardens by now and I snuck a key off the janitor to turn the lights on. I was lucky they kept the ice in tonight; sometimes they replace it over the weekend.

I had pulled off my wig and unwrapped the tensor bandage off my chest half an hour ago, and it felt so much better to train as Bella Swan again. I can finally _breathe. _

It had been a week since the first practice, and Edward wasn't lying when he said this was a labor intense job. Everyone had more arm muscle, bigger leg muscles, and they didn't hesitate to laugh at me whenever they saw me trying to bench press anything. Sure, I was stronger than the average girl, but I wasn't a body builder. We had our first game coming up in less than a month and everyone seemed a little nervous for me. Clearly, I wasn't the fighter on our team. That was probably the only thing I was sufficiently worried about when it came to this league, fights. It may come as a surprise, but I can't fight. _At all. _Especially a two hundred pound man.

I watched the snow rise up from my blades one last time as I stopped at the home team goal line before dropping to my knees, my sweatpants not giving me much protection from the cool ice. I gulped in deep breaths, wondering if I pushed it too hard tonight as I tried to lower my heart rate. But, like always, I was able to calm my body down enough so I could stand on my shaky muscles, pull the parachute off my body and turn to skate towards my Gatorade bottle.

"Impressive." A voice called from behind me. I couldn't help the girly shriek that flew out of my throat, turning around to see a disheveled array of bronze hair. My hand flew to my chest, trying to calm my heartbeat, when I realized I could feel _my chest. _I wasn't Bobby right now. I was Bella.

And I definitely wasn't supposed to be here.

The blush rose to my features as I turned to skate away, but his chuckle stopped me. I heard the distinct sound of blades hitting the ice and I turned back to see him skating towards me.

"Sorry to scare you, but I had to see who the beautiful woman was that trespassed on my turf." The blush rose to my cheeks again.

Did he just call me beautiful? My heart fluttered a little before I remembered who this was. My captain, my teammate, you can't swoon over this man Isabella.

"Your turf?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow and looking at him skeptically. He rolled his eyes, raising his hands in defense before correcting himself.

"My teams turf." He smiled, skating a few feet closer to me. I skated backwards, not remembering that I had the parachute thrown over my shoulder and I started to fly backwards, sure that my head was about to crack the ice. I opened my mouth to scream when arms were suddenly clasped around me, one on my waist and the other behind my head. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes, looking up to see Edward Cullen's face mere inches from mine. His beautiful, emerald eyes bore into mine deeply and I couldn't help but stare back. Neither of us moved, I was incapable of doing so. He looked at me for a moment longer before his face crinkled up slightly in confusion.

"Do I know you?" He demanded softly. At this, reality sunk in.

_What the hell am I doing? _

I jerked from his grasp, praying my feet would stay solid on the ice as I hurriedly gathered the parachute behind me.

"No, no you don't." I replied, searching frantically for my Gatorade bottle and spying it on the board ledge right behind Edward. I mentally cursed myself for being so stupid as to take my guy stuff off here. What the hell was I thinking?

"No, no I'm sure I do." His face was a mask of concentration and I ducked down as I passed him, keeping my face hidden. I spun on my blades when he gripped my wrist. Still looking down, I kept berating myself.

I'm an idiot. I'm an idiot. I blew it. I'm an idiot.

"Won't you tell me your name? It's the least you could do after breaking and entering." His voice held humor, but I felt my palms start to sweat. If I got arrested, they would call Charlie and find out that I'm not at boarding school! Abort, abort! Get the hell out of there Bella!

"I have to go!" I blurted, ripping my hand from his grasp and skating towards my water bottle and the door. I didn't bother to put shoes on, rather, throwing my skate guards to protect my blades and racing from the ice as fast as possible.

"Wait, whoa, wait!" He was calling after me. When I was a sufficient distance away, I turned around to see him swinging his legs over the boards, ready to chase me.

"Isabella!" I called down to him, halting his chase and causing him to look up at me. "My name is Isabella!" His face broke out into a breathtaking smile that made my heart stop. With that, I turned and pushed through the door. I felt his eyes on me the entire time.

~Q~

Back at my apartment, I collapsed onto my bed and pulled at my hair.

That was close. Way too close.

He was close. His sweet breath on my face, his hands warm around my waist, tangling in my hair. If I'd just leaned in a bit closer…Gah! No!

Bella. You're _seventeen _and he thinks you're a _man._ How do you expect that to work? Stop looking at him. Stop thinking about him. Just play your game, Bella. You've trained hard for this and Charlie is waiting on you. You get your first paycheck tomorrow. Use what you need to pay your rent, and then send the rest to the hospital and insurance company.

I took a deep breath, calming my racing heart and laughing at myself. I'm an idiot.

I shook my head in disbelief at my emotions, and smiling I pulled the covers up over my shoulder and closed my eyes to see emerald ones staring back at me. Sighing contently, I fell into a blissful, peaceful sleep.

"_Charlie will never get better if you let your secret out, Bella." The beautiful voice whispered. I reached my arm out, looking for the man with the green eyes but not finding him anywhere. Where was this perfect voice coming from, why can't I see his face? _

"_You'll never make enough money and he'll get sicker and sicker until…" He trailed off; I felt my stomach twist as the words he said registered in my mind. He'll get sicker and sicker until he dies, that's what he was going to say. I nodded in understanding, gulping in a deep breath of air and swearing to myself that I wouldn't let that happen. _

"_There's so much pressure on you, isn't there Isabella? You have to be the best to keep playing and making money, you have to keep lying to everyone; and to top it off, you're slowly starting to fall for a man that thinks _you're _a man. Funny how life works out, isn't it? If you had a mother still, maybe some of the pressure would be taken off. But it's your fault she left, isn't it? What was it she said? I distinctly remember it being something along the lines of 'Maybe if you both noticed me sometimes, instead of playing your stupid game, I wouldn't be gone!'. How does it feel, knowing that she left because you played hockey too much?" the voice asked. It was no longer the beautiful voice I heard at the beginning; it was a twisted, scary voice. It was a voice from my nightmares when I was a little girl, a voice that always haunts me when I'm frightened or doubting myself. _

_It was the voice of death. _

"_I'll take him away too, Bella. Don't you worry? If it becomes too much for you I'll make sure you fail. You'll lose everything. Your job, your parent, your friends, your family…" _

"_STOP!" I screeched, finally the voice had become too much and my insides felt like they were about to burst. Everything in me snapped as I started screaming. "JUST STOP IT! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" _

"_Oh, really? I don't understand? I'm your subconscious. I understand everything. It's really you that doesn't understand. Look, I can dance too." _

_What? _

_I looked up to see the beautiful face of Edward Cullen, distorted as his body did some form of Irish dancing. _

"What the hell?" I demanded of my subconscious, wiping a hand down my sweat ridden face as I tried to calm my heartbeat. That dream would've been the most terrifying and upsetting thing ever, if it hadn't been ruined by an Irish dancing Cullen.

As attractive as he is, no one looks very attractive doing Irish step dancing.

I sighed, my brown hair cascading around my shoulders as I unglued it from my sweaty face. Shaking my head in disbelief, I looked down at myself to see I was still wearing my disgusting clothing from last night.

I skipped to the bathroom, feeling unbelievably happy today. One, it was my day off and two, it was payday. Charlie, your help awaits. I had asked the coach that the money get immediately transferred to where it needs to go, so I'll call Charlie later to see if he received any news yet.

After a nice shower and throwing on some pajama shorts and a sports bra, I grabbed some breakfast and sat on my couch, flipping through the five channels I had on the television. After finding the sports network, I smiled and put the remote down.

Lifting a spoon full of cereal to my mouth, I watched as they went through how all the NHL teams are prepping for play. They had had cameras at the last few of our practices, but I figured they always would. I'd have to get used to playing the game while realizing that I was on TV at the same time. It was slightly nerve wracking, realizing that a million fans are watching from there couches, plus the twenty thousand that are in the arena itself.

First home game in two weeks.

We kick off the season playing the Toronto Maple Leafs, and to say I was nervous would be an understatement. Whenever I thought about it my palms got clammy, my throat dries up and my stomach does back flips.

Or, is that when I'm thinking about Edward?

Last night was too close. I can't risk that again. He can't know who Bella is and he can't see the resemblance between Isabella and Bobby. It just can't happen. I don't even know what to do if he does find out one day. Do I pass us off as siblings? Do I say Bobby is my boyfriend?

Why the hell am I talking like they're two different people? Ugh, I'm tired. This multiple personality stuff is complicated.

I shook my head, clearing my mind and bringing another bite of cereal to my mouth before turning my attention back to the TV.

"_-have a feeling that this kid is going to become an NHL sensation. He might even be the next Cullen." _The announcer was saying. I reached for the remote, turning up the volume before shoveling another bite of cereal into my mouth.

"_I know what you mean, Jim. That Swan's stats are off the charts. I was watching the Bruins practice, you know that?" _

"_Yeah?" _

"_Yeah Jim. This kid is the fastest player on the ice. I don't think Uley stopped one of his shots." _

"_Wow, and he's a good Goalie too." _

"_An excellent Goalie. One of the best in the league! But I was watching, Jim. It was like he couldn't even see where the puck was after Swan was shooting. I have high hopes for this boy, just you wait." _Involuntarily, I smiled. People actually had faith in me?

"_I would too, Phil, if he wasn't as small as my teenage daughter. He's going up against some big boys that'll crush him like a bug. He doesn't stand a chance." _

"_And in other hockey news, the Montreal Canadians draft Jacob Black-"_ I angrily clicked off the TV and shoved another spoon full of cereal into my mouth.

"Who shcares shwhat thay sey anwyway?" I mumbled through the bite, swallowing thickly and drinking down the milk left in my bowl. I narrowly missed spilling a drop on my purple sports bra. I would not've been happy, this is my comfiest one.

I pulled my old copy of Wuthering heights off the broken kitchen table and ran through the yellow kitchen, making a diving jump over the couch armrest to lay face down across the old blue sofa. Readjusting myself so my book was in front of my face, I got lost in the words on the pages.

~Q~

About an hour later I picked up the small black phone to give Charlie a call when it rang in my hand. I looked at the screen to see "Forks Washington General Hospital" scroll itself slowly across the label. With a smile, I clicked the little green accept call button.

"Bells?"

"Hey Daddy! How are you?" I asked him, biting my lip and keeping my voice even to sound surprised at the news I knew he wanted to tell me. He let out a deep breath.

"I'm real good Bells. Real good." The smile that broke across my face was involuntary and made me feel so happy.

"Oh, Dad. I'm so happy to hear that." I said honestly, my voice a little hoarse from emotion. He chuckled, seeing right through me.

"It's okay Bells, be happy. Someone made a donation; we have enough to keep going on Chemo and to maybe put your old man under the knife again. There's still hope for me yet," He joked. I know he was only kidding, but hearing him say that made something in me snap.

"Oh course there's hope for you!" I almost yelled into the phone. He went really quiet and I was instantly contrite, running my hand down my face and shaking my head in shame. "Dad I'm so-"

"No, no, you're right Bells. I forgot how much it upsets you to hear me say that." He whispered sadly. I kept mentally kicking myself. This was supposed to be a really happy day and I was ruining it.

"No, Dad, I shouldn't've snapped. I'm sorry. When are they going to do the surgery? Is it soon?" I asked hopefully. I could almost hear him relax at the lighter conversation topic.

"Sometime next week. I'll call you later with more details." I nodded unnecessarily.

"Okay Daddy, love you."

"Hey, shouldn't you be in class?" He asked after a moment. I froze.

Uh oh. Busted.

"I, uh, it's," I stumbled, not really knowing what to do. I looked at the calendar frantically in search of something, but I couldn't find anything for Monday, September 24th. "It's a free day Dad, all the teachers are at a conference so we get the day off. I'm just chilling in the dorm." He was quiet for a moment as I held my breath.

_Please believe me, please believe me, please believe me… _

"Well aren't you kids lucky? We didn't have those days back when I was in school…" he trailed off with a fake sad tone and I giggled. I looked to the crusty white roof as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Right Dad, and you didn't have buses, or shoes either. You had to walk-"

"-uphill both ways, knee deep in snow!" We both said the last line together, him with an incredulous tone and me with a taunting one. After we had both stopped laughing, I sighed.

"I miss you, Dad." I murmured quietly. He sighed.

"I miss you too baby. I love you, I'll call later. Enjoy your day off!"

"Bye." I whispered into the dial tone. I put down the black communication device and sighed, looking around the brown walls of my apartment and enjoying the silence.

Well, I enjoyed the silence for three seconds.

"BELLA OPEN YOUR DOOR RIGHT NOW. OPEN IT. I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!" Was all I could hear through the banging of a fist on the door. I jumped about twelve feet in the air before racing across the small apartment to look through the peephole. I don't know who I expected it to be, but I should've known that it was little Alice Brandon on the other side.

"What? Are you okay?" I asked her frantically, checking to see if she was injured or anything. But no, instead she seemed absolutely fine as she squealed her way into my apartment and didn't bother to kick off her shoes before she started jumping on my couch.

Alice was twenty four and was studying to business so she could open her own store and clothing line. I guess her two morning classes were done for the day. Yay for me.

We met when I moved here and started looking for an apartment. Her father owns this building and she lives in the pent house suite. She helped me get a discount on one of the cheapest rooms in the building, but it was a room none the less. She doesn't treat me like a kid despite the age difference, and she helps me out whenever she can. She knows how difficult this whole thing has been for me and without her; I wouldn't've been able to do it. She got all the fake documents, all the ID's, everything. I wouldn't've made it past the training camps without her.

She introduced me to Rose shortly after I moved here a few months ago. When she heard about what I was doing she was ecstatic to flirt her way through the business for me, becoming my personal gopher in case I needed anything. In turn, I had to set her up with at least one professional hockey player.

Done. Emmett Cullen, for the win. Even though he initiated it, it still counts.

Both of them were quickly becoming my sisters, and I wouldn't have it any other way. But, that doesn't give them a right to jump on my crappy couch with their shoes on.

"Alice, please, at least kick the flats off before ruining my couch!" I begged, tugging on her arm and dragging her into a safer, sitting position. She kept squealing at me and I didn't know what to do. Eventually, after a minute of the high pitched noise I was sure would break every dish in my house, I grabbed her face in my hands.

"Alice. Stop. Chill. Speak." I ordered, watching as she went through the motions until she was looking at me with a calm expression. I waited, watching her face until it broke out into another smile. I grabbed the pillow and shoved in over my face just in time for the squealing to start again.

"Oh my god, what?!" I demanded, the sound slightly muffled by the throw pillow over my face. I managed to make out the words 'Jasper' 'Edward' 'Hot brunette chick that plays hockey' before I took a peek out from under the pillow.

"Uhm, sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked her, she grinned, gripping my hands in hers and smiling knowingly.

"So, I was talking to Jasper-"

"You managed to have an actual conversation with Jasper that wasn't about his penis?" I asked in mock surprise. Her happy expression disappeared and suddenly the pillow was in my face again, only this time because she threw it. Laughing, I threw the pillow to the floor and apologized, asking her if she could keep going.

"So, I was talking to Jasper and he invited me for coffee. Wait! I know, that's exciting and we'll talk about that in a second. He also said that he was talking to Edward about an encounter Edward had with a hot, hockey playing brunette chick." She wagged her eyebrows at me and I felt my stomach flutter.

He thinks I'm hot?

"It, uh, could've been anyone Alice." I said, trying to make myself seem nonchalant. She shook her head, wagging her finger knowingly as her eyes narrowed at me.

"Jasper said that Edward said this girl was the best he'd ever seen. She could skate faster than anyone and she was working her fine ass off. He said that you-"

"It wasn't me!" I interrupted. She narrowed her eyes at me again, catching my lie.

"He said that this _random chick_ was really dedicated and really good. Then, he stared into her big brown eyes and thought she was adorable, helping her before she fell and smiling at her and all that cute stuff he does. Then he said that she said her name was, drum roll please, Isabella." I swallowed, looking into her blue eyes and her perfect face before groaning and letting my head fall to my hands.

"I shouldn't've taken off my guy stuff." I grumbled, shaking my head in my hands in despair. Alice pulled my head out of my hands by my hair, causing me to shriek in slight pain but stopped when I saw her angry looking features.

_Scary pixie. _I internally comment.

"Bella Swan, _Edward Cullen _was flirting with you and what did you do? Nothing!" She was aghast. I looked at her wide eyed and started arguing in my defense.

"Alice, he's four years older than me, I was illegally in that rink in the first place and my alter ego is his teammate! What was I supposed to say? _Oh, hi, my name is Isabella and I'm actually pretending to be a guy named Bobby and that's why I'm allowed to be on your ice at three in the morning?_ For some reason, I don't think that would've worked out to well!" She raised her eyebrows at me.

"Are you done?" She asked. I opened my mouth and closed it again dumbly. I shrugged, nodding my head slightly. I guess I didn't have anything else to say. "Then we'll get back to the point that _Edward Cullen _was flirting with you and you didn't do anything! You _ran away!" _I groaned, reaching the pillow up from the faded hardwood floor and smashing the blue fabric into my face.

"Please, please, can't you just debrief me on what's going on with you and Jasper?" I begged. I watched her eyes light up and another squeal escaped her lips. Oh no.

This was going to be a long day.

~Q~

"This is ridiculous." I mumbled as I made my way out the door, back pack slung over my shoulder and hockey stick in hand. My cell phone read one o'clock in the morning. I couldn't sleep; I didn't really want to risk dreaming of the elusive Edward Cullen again. Did I want to risk the chance that he was at the rink at such late hours either? No, probably not. Oh well, there's a risk in everything, right?

Wrong. This is stupid. Fucked up. Dumb.

Maybe that's an over exaggeration, but really, this is probably very, very idiotic to do. Truth be told, I'm not even sure why I'm doing this.

_Yes you do, you want to see him again. As Bella. _

I barely know him as Bobby, why would I want to know him as Bella? _Wow, I really am starting to sound like I have a multiple personality disorder… _

I locked my apartment door and ran slightly down the hallway, giggling to myself all the way. As stupid and dumb and reckless as this is, I'm still at teenage girl. Maybe I just want to be dumb and stupid sometimes.

_Masquerading as a man to play in the NHL wasn't enough for you? _My subconscious demanded. _I guess not. _I replied. Maybe I was taking this 'crazy' thing a little too far.

My truck started with an angry roar and I slowly started making my way to the arena. The old red Chevy pushed as hard as it could go as I sped down the, still busy, streets of Boston.

When I pulled up to the arena I pulled the key ring from my dashboard with a grin, spinning them around my fingers as I opened the door. I hopped in the box of my truck, grabbing the hockey stick and swinging my backpack over my shoulder. I pushed the key into the lock and grinned when it opened.

Sweet!

It was then that I realized I didn't care whether or not Edward was here. I wasn't doing this for Edward; I was doing this for me. As much as I've made hockey my priority for saving Charlie's life, I still love it. There was a reason that I'm as good as I am, that I push myself as hard as I do. I love every second of playing the game. I love every single time my blade touches the ice, I love every single slap shot that I take, I love watching the puck hit the net with a level of accuracy that astounds people. And for this to be my career, for the Boston Gardens to be my rookie year home ice? That was the most beautiful sounding thing that I've ever heard.

I unlocked every door that I passed with the janitor's key ring, smiling when I felt the cool air hit my face.

I was home.

I couldn't help the small bit of my heart that sunk when I realized how empty that was, the fact that this was home. I also couldn't help that small part of me that cheered that the ice sounded empty but was covered in fog, so I couldn't see anything. I quickly laced my skates and slipped on my gloves, grabbing my hockey stick and a few pucks to start breaking and pushing through the clouded air.

I can't describe to you how amazing of a feeling that is. When you're the first person that day to touch the ice and it's so cold that the air across the entire rink fogs up. You can't even see your own skates it's so foggy. I loved it. I loved breaking this fog and skating through it. Giggling, I laughed, twirling around with my arms in the air, a feeling of euphoria flowing through me.

I laughed and screamed and shouted. I skated until I could duck down and see the center ice circle. It was dark, foggy, and cool, but I didn't care. At the center of the ice, I raised my hands above my head and dropped my hockey stick and I just cheered. As loud as I possibly could, as big as I could possibly be, that's what I did.

Giggling, I collapsed to the cool surface in a heap, laughing and rolling like a buffoon.

I'm an NHL hockey player. My Dad is going to live. I'm happy. Everything was overwhelming.

"Are you okay?" Someone called out. I didn't even flinch, I felt oddly safe with the voice that I'd recognize anywhere.

"I'm better than okay." I replied, still giggling. Rolling so I could stand, I skated away from the sound of the voice. I heard someone start to skate towards me and I froze. I knew they couldn't see me, they could only hear me. This was a game of Marco Polo, and I was going to win.

"Can you skate towards me? I can't see you," Edward called. I rolled my eyes, biting back the response of 'no shit Sherlock' that landed on my tongue and instead I giggled.

"Nope. You're not getting me in trouble." I replied, still laughing. I skated as quietly as possible and I heard him start striding towards me. I froze again, instead of pushing the blades across the ice I glided silently. I knew I'd lost him again.

This was fun!

"I really want to see you," He called out again. I frowned, pondering the idea of showing myself now.

"Why?"

"Because you're all I can think about today, Isabella." At this, I rolled my eyes.

"Could you think of a cheesier response, Mr. Cullen?" I demanded sarcastically. At this, the sound of his skating stopped.

"So you _do_ know who I am." He stated, surprise coloring his tone.

"Doesn't everyone? I just don't really care." I answered. I glided forward again and my body connected with a hard back. I heard him cry out in surprise and I spun around as fast as I could, skating away from him at a frantic pace. His pursuit was fast behind me and I stopped suddenly, losing him and gliding silently away again.

"Why don't you care?" He called out, slightly breathless. I shrugged, why didn't I care? Was it because I'd met him? No, it wasn't. Sure, I was fazed for a second or two, but even when Alice was chastising me on not flirting with _the _Edward Cullen I didn't really care.

"Because you're still a person." I called back, breathless too from the skate. He was quiet for a long moment.

"Won't you show yourself?" he asked finally. I shook my head, even though he couldn't see me.

"No, I won't. It's too much of a risk."

"What's the risk?"

"Because it's_ you_."

"So you _do _care who I am." His voice was hurt, I instantly wanted to explain.

"No, no, I don't. I promise. I just- I mean- you wouldn't understand." I stuttered. I had stopped, I heard him start to skate towards me slowly.

"Please, please let me see you?" He asked. I smiled, skating away when I realized he was close. I didn't reply; instead just let him blindly search for a girl he wasn't going to find. After another moment, I heard a loud sigh of defeat.

"Then tell me something about you." He said finally, breaking the silence. I smiled, leaning against the boards I'd bumped into.

"Like what?" I called across the ice. He chuckled, the sound so free and enticing that I couldn't help but smile even brighter.

"Anything!" He called back enthusiastically. I grinned, smirking at the first thing that came to mind

"I've always wanted to be an NHL hockey star," I said to him, smiling at the inside joke. Well, I was smiling, until I heard a disbelieving scoff.

"There's one minor detail wrong with that dream," Was his reply, still chuckling to himself. I frowned, furrowing my eyebrows as I tried to think of what he was talking about.

"What's that?" I finally demanded.

"You're a woman?" He stated, as if it was obvious. The snort that left my mouth was unladylike and disbelieving. Oh, the irony…

"Why did you come here tonight?" He asked after a moment. His voice had gotten closer to me, and it was almost too close for my liking. Well, nothing was too close for my liking, but it was still awfully close.

"I wanted to skate." I said, as if it was obvious. "Why are you here? Why were you here yesterday?" I heard another skate step towards me.

"I need the practice, I need to be better." He replied, in the same obvious tone I used. I frowned.

"But you're already the best…" I trailed off, and I heard his deep sigh.

"I used to be…" he muttered. The frown in my expression didn't leave, what did _that _answermean?

"Who are you, Isabella?" I chuckled darkly, not replying. Because well, how could I?

_I don't even know who I am anymore. _

"You shouldn't be talking to me, Edward. I could be dangerous, or scary, I did break in here you know…" I heard his chuckle from across the ice now.

"I'm sure you could be scary or dangerous, if you wanted to be, but I really doubt you are." His voice was teasing, and I couldn't help but smile. I could feel our evening quickly coming to a close; it was almost two in the morning anyway.

"I have to go, Cullen. It was nice talking to you." As I slipped off my skates, I waited on edge to make sure that he didn't skate towards me. Sure enough, he was respectful, and he kept a good distance away.

_I never took Edward Cullen to be a weird guy, but he'd have to be, to talk to random strangers that break into hockey arenas at ungodly hours. _

"What's your favorite type of food?" He called out as I was leaving. I rolled my eyes. Yup, this guy was definitely weird.

"Italian!" I called back, before hoisting my bag over my shoulder and leaving the arena that night.

As I got into my car and drove back to my apartment, it felt like there should be a flurry of thoughts running through my head. But, truth be told, there was only one.

I didn't know how I felt about Edward Cullen. I knew I was attracted to the man, but I didn't know if I wanted a friend or if I wanted something more that I couldn't ever have. What I did know, was that every time I talked to Edward as Isabella, I took a serious risk.

And sometimes, risk assessment doesn't matter. Because he was starting to become an addiction, and I didn't know how I felt about that either.

**Wow, I actually got another chapter done.  
I hope those who are reading enjoy this. Post a review, give me criticism. Hate seems pointless to me, but if you want to leave that, go right on ahead. I don't read it anyway. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh my, there are so many things I want to say. Your reviews? They're so sweet, so kind, and so, so appreciated. They're the reason that this chapter is coming out, to which I'm thankful, because you guys gave me motivation to do something that I enjoy. I really appreciate that.**

This is the longest chapter to date too. I'm not one of those crazy talented writers that can shoot off a ten thousand word chapter in a few days. But, I managed to get this to six thousand words, is that enough for now? 

**This isn't really that exciting, but we get to build on Bella's femininity and we get to see a contrasting Edward. **

**Thank you all again, really. Knowing you're reading this? That rocks guys, more than anything. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: You're dumb, this disclaimer is pointless. Anything relating to Stephanie Meyers Twilight is clearly property of Stephanie Meyer and friends. Not me. I am using it though, for my own personal entertainment. Thanks. **

I puffed up my chest as I sat in the front seat of the Hummer, feeling awfully small next to the monster that we called Emmett. He had decided to pick me up for practice to tell me how hot he thought Rosalie was and to get advice on her. It was seven o'clock in the morning. My eyes looked like shit, not that my make-up showed that anyway, it was starting to get colder outside, and worst of all I was tired. I hated being tired.

There was a good tired, which was post-workout, soaking in an ice bath, tired. I liked that tired. But, then there is _I haven't had enough sleep thinking about a certain attractive hockey player, _tired. I regret to inform you that it was the latter keeping me awake.

"-and awh man, she's such a bitch. But, in a good way," Emmett was saying as I zoned back into the conversation. I just kept nodding, gripping my Tim Horton's like it was a lifeline and doing my best not to cringe in the ways he described one of my best friends. Seriously, there were some conversations that were not cut out for young girls ears. Unless you were a lesbian I guess, they'd probably enjoy this conversation as much as any straight guy would. I mean seriously, how many different ways did he have to describe her boobs before he realized I got the picture? Jeez, she's borrowed my clothes before.

"What about you? Got a girl back home?" He demanded. I shrugged, not answering. I didn't even consider this sort of conversation, what did I say here? Before I even had the chance to answer, his eyes widened and he started backtracking immediately.

"Oh, dude, I didn't realize. I guess I should've, I mean, look at you. But fuck-this is awkward. Not that there's anything wrong with that!" He was quick to cry out the last part. I frowned. What was he going on about now?

"Uh, Emmett? Are you okay bro?" I demanded warily, trying to keep my voice as deep as possible. He sighed, wiping his hand over his brow and peeking up at me, he looked slightly uncomfortable. This was odd, because Emmett seemed to be the type of guy that was never uncomfortable.

"Look, I know it isn't something widely accepted or talked about in our careers. Which is fine, your life is your life, but we're teammates. I'm here for you when times get tough, alright? Don't let anyone judge you because of you, uh, preference." I didn't really know what to say. It almost sounded like he knew my secret, but I had a weird feeling that wasn't what he was talking about.

"Uh, okay?" I replied, going with it. Maybe he was slightly crazy, like his attractive brother. "Sure dude. Thanks." He clapped me on the shoulder.

"No problem buddy. Whatever you believe in, we're here for ya." I frowned again.

_Jeez, the whole family seemed to forget their sanity pills this week…_

We pulled up to the Gardens around seven-thirty and Emmett hoisted my equipment out of the expensive vehicle. While he was getting his own equipment, my eyes wandered the parking lot, landing on an array of messy hair that was reaching into the trunk of an expensive looking Volvo, hoisting his own bag out of it. I watched the muscles in his back and arms effortlessly flex as he closed the trunk of the car, carrying his heavy equipment into the building like it was weightless.

"Ah, kid, I hate to say this, but Edward is kind of a _ladies' _man." I heard Emmett's voice break my reverie. I shook my head, clearing it from all inappropriate thoughts. It took me a second to process what Emmett actually said. When it ran through my mind one more time, I spun around on him.

"What?" I demanded in surprise. Emmett sighed, throwing me a pitied look.

"I know bud, I'm sorry. He has a different girl every week, he followed after his big brothers lead, flirting with anything with breasts and sweet pus-" I covered my ears dramatically, my voice sounding more like my normal pitch than it should as I squealed.

"Jeez, Emmett! I don't need to hear that!" I cried, walking away from him quickly. Though Emmett didn't realize how much his words really affected me.

_Of course he was a ladies' man. No average guy flirts with a random girl that broke into a hockey arena, you naïve idiot. Chill out, Bella, and stop staring at him before he gets the wrong idea. _

"Swan!" Jasper called when I entered the automatic doors. I turned towards the sound of his voice and saw that he was standing by the change room in the hallway, talking to the one and only, captain Edward Cullen himself. Jasper waved me over with a grin.

"So, Eddie here says there's this girl that's been breaking into the arena," Jasper said slowly, watching Edward for confirmation as he spoke. Edward nodded, though scowled at the nickname offered. I felt my heart rate increase, my palms suddenly felt clammy.

"Oh, yeah?" I asked in mock surprise, I tried to cock and eyebrow but I think I just scrunched up my face. Edward threw me a slightly confused look and I sighed. This guy this was fucking hopeless. I don't know how this has worked thus far. He cleared his throat, looking away from me and back to Jasper.

"Yeah and shit, is she good. She's great. She's… damn, Jasper, she's almost better than me." I frowned, better than him at what? Edward turned to look at me again and I realized that I'd said those things out loud. With the warning look that Jasper threw me, I don't think I said them in the guy voice. Edward snorted incredulously.

"What do you think she was doing in the arena, bowling? She was playing hockey." He snipped back. Huh. Someone's grumpy today… I sneered at him and he sneered at me. When I turned back to Jasper, he had a look of pure amusement on his face.

"So, Eddie-"

"Don't call me that!"

"-Whatever, Ed. Tell us more about this girl?" Jasper demanded, bumping his shoulder with a teasing look. Edward rolled his eyes and we all shoved our way into the change room, we were the only ones in the room as of yet.

That's because practice doesn't start till eight thirty, and it's seven thirty in the morning. I could've had one more hour of sleep, Emmett. Thanks bro.

"She's beautiful, what I've gotten to see of her. She keeps hiding from me, I feel like such a creep. I don't want to scare her away." He mumbled, smiling fondly and shaking his head. I felt my face heat, and I turned into the wall to keep my blush from showing.

Was he really talking about me? It didn't sound like he was. Beautiful wasn't a word people ever used to describe me before. I was always boyish, strong, athletic, but never beautiful. I felt out of place, being described by that word, but my internal monologue still squealed.

It was about five minutes later when Emmett and Rosalie walked in the change room; Rose apparently decided to watch our practice. I raised an eyebrow at her; she didn't wake up before noon for anyone.

Maybe Emmett was a keeper.

When I looked at her closely, I felt myself color in surprise.

"Hey! That's my shirt!" I cried, glaring at her pointedly. She glared back, stalking towards me. Scary lady.

"No, this is _my_ shirt that you borrowed for a month and a half. I just took it back." She argued. I shook my head, no way bitch. That was mine.

"Nuh uh, I paid forty bucks for that…" I trailed off when Jasper cleared his throat, waving his hand along the base of his neck in the universal _stop talking about that right now_, sign. "-I, uh, I mean I bought that for my sister. I paid forty bucks for that _for my sister_, you better give it back or she'll never stop whining about it." I looked around the room, in our argument a few more guys had walked in, and I felt my face heat more. Clearing my throat, I shoved my hands deep in my pockets and shuffled my feet on the floor, trying to hide my face and act like a guy as much as possible.

"So, uh, are we gonna practice soon or what?" I mumbled. Jasper couldn't hold in his laugh, and I looked up to see Edward staring at me like I was a bug he wanted to step on.

"What a freak…" he mumbled under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear. I sighed, wonderful. Rosalie threw me a sheepish wave goodbye and mouthed 'sorry' as she exited the room. I shook my head, silently berating myself as I threw on all my equipment for practice.

Great. At this rate my secret will be out before I even get to play a game.

~Q~

"Jasper, I can't do this!" I growled under my breath, he shoved me forward in the line.

"You have too, it's part of the game."

"I'm fast enough to not get hit."

"You're a defenseman; you still need to _throw _hits darlin'. C'mon, I'll go easy on you. The rest of the team won't though, so be ready. And for God sake, _please _don't start cryin'." I sneered at him, but a small part of me realized that I really did want to cry.

We had everyone lined up along the boards, and one by one players were skating through the line of people, each player throwing a check to the player that skated through. Then they'd join the line, throwing a hit to the next victim that had to skate through the drill.

_It's like a line of death! _I internally freaked out. I leaned into my check and shoved the skating Quil Attera as hard as I could, I ended up bounding backwards, stumbling sideways across the ice as the other players in the line shoved him effortlessly into the boards.

_What I would give to be a two hundred pound dude right now…_

Jasper was up, skating forward and leaving me at the front of the line. I gulped. I was next. Jasper raced through, I managed to throw my weight behind the check and clip his shoulder, shoving him gently into the boards. He skated through it effortlessly, but I was proud that I got him to slow down. When he hit the back of the line, my body froze. The person behind me in line shoved me forward, and I turned around to see Edward Cullen's impatient features.

"C'mon, we've got more drills to do today." He snapped, pushing my back again. I gulped, stumbling forward and skating about ten feet in front of the line-up. I turned to face them and I watched with wide eyes and a pounding heart as they all readied themselves to throw the check. I was very tempted to close my eyes, but I didn't think that would make matters any better. With a deep breath, I raced forward as fast as my legs would carry me, straight into the line of death.

I kept myself low, like I was taught to do when taking a check, what I didn't expect was to skate straight through the line of men, all of them just half a second too slow to hit me. When I skated through Jasper without one body hitting me, I lined up again with a confident smile on my face. I was surprised when instead of going to the front of the line like he was supposed to; Edward skated back towards me and Jasper. He kept skating forwards when he got to me, and I backed into the boards, my palms sweating.

He was scary, his body so close to mine, his eyes hard and his jaw clenched. He was also very, very attractive. I didn't know which part of me won out, terrified Bobby or swooning Bella. Though the choice was made for me when his shoulder connected with my torso, a force strong enough to knock all the air out of me. He pinned me to the boards, bruising my ribs as he shoved me backwards. He leaned in close, my skates not touching the ice anymore as he held my body off the ice.

_He still looked beautiful when he was this close to me…_

"You have to be able to take a hit. We're going for strong defense this year. Don't make me regret putting you on this team." He spit in my ear. I shook my head, gasping for breath and nodding furiously. He finally released the pressure that his body had on mine and I gulped in the cool air. Teammates threw me looks of sympathy and some laughed boisterously as we all skated for a quick water break. Jasper instructed that I go warm up the goalies, we were about to scrimmage for the last few minutes of practice.

I grabbed a few pucks and started lobbing them into the gloves of Uley and Clearwater. I made sure that they each touched the puck a few times before I really started taking shots at them. I held my giggles back as I made poor Sam skate back and forth and back and forth in his net, each puck hitting the mesh at a speed too quick for him to catch.

Edward called for me and him to start on defense and I nodded obediently, taking the right side and getting myself into position as the guys dropped the puck. Jasper won the puck for our 'team' and I couldn't help but smile.

This was some of my favorite parts of the game, your body naturally knowing where it's supposed to go, your mind adapting to the speed of your opponents. The worst players played to the skill of their opponents, the best were constant. It didn't matter if you were the absolute best, when your players knew how to play with you, it was better than being unpredictable to your teammates.

Edward got the puck and passed it to me. I carried it up, slipping through the legs of two of our forwards, Crowley swearing as I left him behind. I chuckled as I danced around the defense, and instead of shooting I turned and dropped the puck across the goal line to Jasper.

He shoots, he scores!

I turned to fist bump him and all the guys just kind of stared at me. This was weird; normally in a game they would race up to you, rub your helmet and pat your back. But they all just sorta dropped their heads, scratched the back of their necks and mumbled to themselves. I frowned, skating back to the bench where Edward had already switched. I looked up at our Captain feeling very confused.

"What was I supposed to do there?" I asked him quietly, my eyebrows furrowing in frustration. His green eyes met mine and my breath caught, I unconsciously felt my body lean in, just slightly, before I got myself under control. He leaned over the boards, frowning in thought. If he noticed my strange reaction towards him, he didn't show it.

"You were supposed to play like a rookie, that's what they expected from you. But you didn't. You played like a professional, I think that's what's bothering everyone." He replied. I felt my stomach sink. I was bothering people here? He turned and looked at me, seeing my apparent confusion; he shook his head to stop my thoughts.

"It's difficult for these guys, some of them in this rink over thirty years old. They've worked their whole lives for this, and then to have someone so young come into this league and play better than they ever have, better than they ever will, it can't be easy." I didn't know who we were talking about anymore, the team, or himself.

"I don't know what they want from me. I'm just doing my job." I replied, shooting some water into my mouth and spitting it out on the ice in frustration. I wiped my glove down my face and chanced a glance at him, but he was too focused on his players to notice me. He was dedicated to his team, he was a leader. A captain.

"Jasper, play higher! Chara, don't drop like that!" He cried out suddenly, his voice loud enough to frighten me as I jumped about twelve feet in the air and let out a very girly shriek. He shot me a wary look before hoisting himself over the boards for a line change. I did the same, following him out onto the ice and shaking my head at myself.

I really need to start focusing more on hockey and less on a certain captain.

~Q~

After practice I went home, showering and relaxing for a few hours before buckling down on my computer. I was taking online classes to get my last eight high school credits, and then I could officially graduate. I didn't know what I was going to do when it came time for me to supposedly graduate from a high-end boarding school in Boston. Charlie would want to be here, and I don't know what I'd say to him. If everything goes well, he'll be better by then.

As long as I keep working hard, he'll get better. He has too.

I finished up all the English, Math, World Issues and History homework that I had to do for this week and looked to the clock. It was only eight, and we didn't have any practice tomorrow due to the ice space being used for a concert. We had a few hours of off-ice training that we had to do, but other than that I had all of tomorrow to myself. I grinned, stretching out on my couch and flicking on my TV; I turned it to the movie network and settled in, watching one of my favorite old horror movies.

"_Don't open the door, don't open the door, don't open the door…" _I whispered under my breath, the movie was almost over, it had officially gotten dark out and I was feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. The door on the TV creaked, the floor boards squeaked, and I started freaking out even more.

"Oh my gosh, please be quiet. It's not real, it's not real, it's not real…" I murmured to myself, cradling my knees to my chest and closed my eyes, hearing the TV floorboards squeak more, I heard the soft breathing of the people in the movie. It all seemed so real. I allowed myself a small peek through my hands and I let out a piercing scream, my heart rate flying and my hands reaching out to strike the man that now stood in front of my TV.

The lights came on, and I whirled around to see Alice and Rose giggling their asses off. I frantically spun around again to see Jasper clutching the side of his head where my fist connected with it. I gasped, holding my hand to my chest and trying to calm my desperately racing heart.

"What the hell guys?!" I cried, trying to pull in deep breaths as I collapsed on my couch. "None of you are funny. That was so mean." Alice and Rose fell into another fit of giggles and I smiled when Jasper started grumbling something about how bad of a plan it was.

Yeah, that's what you get, bud.

"We're going out, and you're coming along." Alice ordered after we'd all calmed down, pulling on my arms to get me to stand. I smiled.

"Where are we going?" I asked as she skipped me towards the bedroom, she threw me a devilish smirk.

"We're going clubbing." At this, I stalled, raising and eyebrow at her as I waited for her to realize the fault in this plan. After a moment of us staring at each other expectantly, I rolled my eyes.

"Uh, Alice, I'm not legal age." I stated slowly, talking to her as if I was talking to a small child. At this, she rolled her eyes, dragging me along impatiently.

"Oh please, you think we got you fake ID's for Bobby, and not for Bella? Come on, you have to know us better than that by now. Tsk tsk, Bella." I allowed myself to be dragged along, feeling stupid for underestimating the force of nature that was Alice. She pushed me into the bathroom and ordered me to shower. When I came back out, there was a little black dress on my bed with a bra and panty set and matching flats. I turned to see Alice and Rose were already dressed, both in tight dresses similar to mine.

If mine was as short as theirs, they didn't stand a chance of me getting this… this contraption on. I held it up to my body, sure enough, it barely covered anything.

"Uh, not a chance." I said, shaking my head and thrusting it back at Alice. She sighed impatiently.

"Bella, when I was seventeen I'd kill to get to go clubbing." She said sadly, I shook my head stubbornly. No way. But alas, it didn't take long for Rose to throw her two cents in.

"Bella, c'mon, you need to have some fun. Someone as young as us shouldn't worry so much, you shouldn't have such a burden to bear. Please, because of all we've done for you, we're asking that you take one night off and come have some drinks with us, as _Bella_. Got knows you're going to get confused if you spend too much time as a man, it just can't be healthy." Her eyes were wide and pleading, but they were also sincere. They weren't taking pity on me, they actually wanted to hang out and have fun. I sighed again, but I could feel the smile on my lips as I grabbed my new clothes and slipped into the bathroom. The push up bra made my boobs look way bigger than they actually were, and the panties were very comfortable for looking so scary. I couldn't look in the mirror once the dress was on though; I was going to lose any confidence that I had.

I slipped the flats on my feet and grinned. They were cute, and at least Alice had enough common sense not to put me in death trap heels like her and Rosalie were wearing. It took us ten minutes to blow dry my long hair and another twenty for the two of them to put it into loose curls. Alice made my eyes look smoky and Rose helped line my lips. When they were done, I managed to steal a glance in the mirror.

I didn't see the seventeen year old that I've been seeing the past few months. I couldn't find any sign of the tired out, working girl. Instead, I saw a confident woman before me, wearing a dress that hugged her body right and made her legs look killer. I looked like an adult that was put together, that had a career. I looked out of place in this trashy apartment, and I couldn't help but smile at that.

When I stepped into the living room, Jasper gawked at all three of us. He tugged at the collar of his shirt before letting loose a long, low whistle.

"I have to spend the night with you three ladies? Damn." He joked with a wink. I smiled; it felt _so _nice to be a girl after being a guy all week. Hell, all my life. We all drove in Jaspers big truck, me and Rose in the back. I watched as Jasper reached across the seat and pulled Alice's hand into his own, intertwining their fingers and sharing a smile with her. The moment was so sweet, so intimate I had to look away. At watching this display, Rosalie brightened significantly.

"Oh, Bella! I should warn you that Emmett will be meeting us there." She said. I felt my stomach drop. That didn't mean that Edward was going to be there too, did it? At the look of panic on my face, Alice turned around and shook her head.

"No, your boy isn't going to be there tonight. He had a meeting with his trainer." I let out a gust of air and Rosalie looked back and forth between us, confused.

"What?" She demanded.

"Alice, fill her in."

After half an hour of squealing and arguing over what I should do, we finally managed to find a parking space and get in line. It didn't take long at all for the bouncer to spot Rose and call her forward. She flashed him her ID and a heart melting smile and, surprise surprise, he let her through immediately. When I handed him my ID, I was shaky. They waited at the door for me with baited breath as he looked me up and down; he looked from my ID to my face over and over again. I felt my heard plummet to my stomach when he pulled out a pen. What was he going to do?

To my surprise, he handed me back my ID and a piece of paper, ushering me into the club with a wink. I managed to smile brightly and thank him before stepping into the flashing lights and really loud music. Rose and Alice pulled me to the side.

"What was that about?!" Alice cried over the music. I shrugged, holding the piece of paper up to my face and struggling to see what was written on it. When the scribbles finally flashed in time with the blinking lights, I let out a loud laugh.

"Oh my God," I cried, chucking Alice the piece of paper and searching for the table Jasper grabbed us. I heard their loud reactions and giggles behind me as they read what was on the old receipt, giggling along with me as I stole the seat closest to the wall of the booth.

"Bella got her first phone number!" Rose crowed, holding the piece of paper out for Jasper to see. He chuckled, shaking his head incredulously.

"You guys are ruthless," he muttered, taking a sip of his beer. I scrunched my nose at it and he laugh. Alice and Rose went to order drinks and promised they'd get me something fruity with lots of alcohol in it.

…great?

I never really had time to party in high school. Sure, I was invited, but with work, Charlie and hockey I just never could find the time or the will to go. Whenever I did drink it was with my hockey team, and all they ever had was cheap beer and good stories. Rose came back with something Green… a Grasshopper?

"You'll like it after a few, I promise." She whispered in my ear, I nodded dumbly. Whatever you say.

About ten minutes of us talking and swapping stories back and forth, a very well dressed Emmett showed up at our table and pushed his way into the booth. He shot Alice a quick smile and did a handshake with Jasper before his eyes landed on Rosalie. She barley even acknowledged him through the story she was telling, but he only had eyes for her.

As soon as she was done talking, she turned to Emmett with a blinding smile and motioned to me.

"Emmett, this is my friend Bella. Bella, this is Emmett, he plays for the same team Jasper does." We all shared a smile; this was kind of funny in a twisted way.

"Bella? As in, Isabella?" Emmett asked. I froze, suddenly being very thankful that Rose decided to get me a strong drink after all.

"Yes," Was all I managed to reply.

"No shit, you have to be her. Hey, were you-" He was cut off by Rosalie pinching his arm very obviously. He stared at her, mouth agape and motioning to me. She gave an almost imperceptible shake of her head before he stopped talking. He opened his mouth again, as if to say more on the topic, but he seemed to think better of it.

"Ah, well, okay. Hey Bella, how's it going? You from town?" He asked, obviously steering the conversation in a different direction then he originally intended, and for that I was grateful. I nodded, smiling at him like I always have. It was nice to talk to the big guy while I was really me; sometimes I felt bad lying to someone so kind-hearted. We ended up sitting around our booth, laughing and talking and swapping stories for a good hour before Emmett's phone beeped. He looked up at me with worried eyes. He shared a look between Rosalie and she sighed, motioning for him to continue. When he turned back to me, he had a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Kay, I gotta ask, are you arena girl?" He asked me bluntly. The hand that was reaching for my drink froze for a moment.

_Uh oh. _

My hand finally reached my drink, bringing the sour taste to my lips and sipping the numbing agent with a calm exterior. Inside, I was freaking out.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said with a fake smile, leaning in curiously. No matter how well done it was, he didn't seem to buy it at all.

"It doesn't matter to me if you are, but Edward is going to walk through the door in about five seconds, and I don't know how you're going to react to that." At this, I didn't hide my panic, Alice and Jasper scooted out of the booth like I shocked them. I turned just in time to see a disarray of red hair walking towards our table. I turned the other way into the sea of bodies.

"Where are you going?!" Alice cried, gripping my hand and spinning me towards her. I threw her a wicked smile, trying to keep my panic at bay.

"I'm going dancing." I declared, disappearing into the mob. I always loved to dance, ever since I was a little girl and Charlie put me in dance class to improve my balance. I always enjoyed it, it came naturally to me. So, I didn't hesitate to join a small circle of people and swing my hips to the beat. I laughed with a few strangers, some boys my age admitting to using fakes to get into the club as well. It didn't take too long for hands to clasp themselves on my waist from behind and drag me into their form.

I didn't shy away like I thought I would, but rather I enjoyed the feel of someone's hands touching my body like this. Dating was something I didn't have time for either, so intimate touches were always scarce in my life. I liked the feel of a man; I liked rough hands moving me to the rhythm of the fast music and loud bass. After the third song ended, I thanked my partner for the dance with a flirty smile and moved to another area of the floor, not wanting to give anyone the wrong idea. I was going home alone; I had off-ice training tomorrow.

I was on my fourth dance partner when I wanted to pull away. The bodies were getting too sweaty and the man behind me was too drunk for my liking. I took a step forward, thanking him with the same smile I'd given all the other men, but he gripped my wrist tightly, not allowing me to leave.

I felt panic start to set in as I whirled around on this man. He was big, built and strong and he had quite a few years on me. I tried dancing for another second, laughing along with him and trying to pull back one more time, but he gripped me so tightly it was starting to hurt.

"C'mon sweetheart, where do you think you're going?" He sneered into my ear, his arm wrapping around my waist and pulling me tight to his crotch. I shoved against his chest as his lips sought mine, my hands reaching out to push him away. Gross, he smelt like booze and body odor. I cried out when his hand got rougher on my waist, his fingertips digging into my ribs.

"Dance with me babe," He growled in my ear. I finally let out a shriek, shoving against him again. This time, his lips mashed against mine, our teeth clanking together painfully and I pushed and slapped against him, leaning back as far as I could to disconnect our faces. I looked out to see red hair, and that was all I could focus on before the man holding me had suddenly let me go and landed on the floor. The flashing lights of the club made the blood running down his nose look strange. I couldn't move from where I was, standing staring at the man on the ground with my mouth agape. I heard people murmuring, I watched a crowd start to form as the man stumbled to his feet in his drunken stupor. Edwards arm sent sparks up my body as he wrapped it around my waist, tugging my body protectively behind his.

Normally, in this type of situation I would've fought back. I've been strong my entire life, so sitting around while someone else protects me isn't what I like to do. I like to fight, punch, kick and swear until my father tells me to wash my mouth out with soap. But when his arm wrapped around my waist, I'd be lying if I didn't curl myself into his side and bury my head into his chest. I was shaking like a leaf at this whole situation.

That man grabbed me and almost didn't let me go. Edward is here, defending _me_. Seeing _me. _

"Whoa, whoa! It's okay, I'm a fan!" The man garbled. I turned to look at him in disgust, Edward doing the same before gripping my hand and dragging me through the growing crowd of people.

"_Oh my God, is that really him?" _

"_It's Edward Cullen!" _

"_Edward, when does the season start?" _

"_Can I have an autograph?" _

"_Who the hell is that girl?" _

I was dragged into a private section of the club, my mind whirling around too fast for me to think. I felt his hand slip from mine as I was lifted into a booth, his hands sending shocks across my waist. I gasped, looking up at him with wide eyes.

_Well, that escalated quickly. _

Our eyes connected and his face was drawn tight, his fists clenching. A manager came over and handed me some water, Edward was yelling things at him that were just too quick for me to understand. I wasn't listening so much as ogling his angry features. He was defending me. When he turned to me, I had calmed down enough to realize that I had to get out of here.

Quickly. Preferably before I did something stupid.

_No matter how much I want to stay and stare at your pretty face, Edward, I'd like to keep my job under wraps. Thanks. _

"I didn't mean to manhandle you back there. Are you alright?" He asked me, his voice gentler than I'd ever heard it. I opened my mouth for a second before closing it, no words coming out in my surprise. This was such a contrast from the man I'd practiced with these last few weeks, the man that body checks me into the boards and the man that fights hard in his career. This man was… soft.

"I-I think I'm okay. Thank you, for helping me." I said, my voice breaking slightly. He reached across my body, his breath hitting my face as he grabbed my water and handed it to me.

"Here, keep drinking this, you're shaking like a fucking leaf." He ordered, placing it in my hand. I frowned, but did as he asked. Why did he care so much anyway? "Hey, it's okay." He murmured after a second. He was looking at me too closely for my liking; too seriously, it was like he could see right through me.

"My friends are going to be looking for me." I whispered after a second, and sure enough I saw a bob of blonde hair running through the crowd. I guess they'd heard the commotion.

"So I have to let you go?" He teased, pressing his hands to my bare thighs and giving me a crooked grin that I'd never seen before, but instantly wanted to see a thousand times again.

_No, please don't let me go. _

"Thank you, really. You didn't have to do that." I said sincerely, motioning towards the dance floor. He shook his head, making some sort of growling noise before politely disagreeing. When I was just about to leave the private section and meet Rose, I felt a hand grip my wrist, stopping me.

_He's bold, _I noted, smiling back at him curiously. He looked embarrassed, his hand leaving my wrist and running itself through his ever messy hair.

"I thought I wouldn't get to see you again, Isabella. _I want to see you again_." He murmured, his eyes boring into mine deeply, the green shining so bright against his red hair. Then, one realization came to mind. _He remembered me._ I was pretty sure he did, but now there was no doubt. I smiled a wicked grin at him, feeling less like his teammate and more like a girl with a crush. I stepped back and waved slightly to Rosalie, letting her know I saw her before briefly turning back to Edward, smile still in place.

"Oh, you'll see me again." I promised confidently. "You know where to find me." And with that, I spun on my heel, waving to Rose that we should go. I couldn't keep the smile off my face as I walked through the club, meeting up with a worried looking Alice and Jasper. I turned around to see Edward and Emmett, Emmett with a shit eating grin and Edward looking slightly dazed.

Did I do that?

I waved goodbye to Em' before stepping out of the club. I gave the brief explanation to my friends as I stared out the car window at the city lights, feeling slightly dazed as I did.

"No matter how stupid it is, I want to see you again too." I whispered out the window, too low for anyone to hear.

Edward Cullen, you've got me spinning in circles, and I hope I can keep myself from getting too dizzy. I don't think anyone wants that to happen.

It's definitely fun, being seventeen.

**Leave a review if ya like, it's always really appreciated! **


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm baaaaaaack. Surprise! Another chapter completed. Yay for Sydney!  
Hi, I hope you've had a good week since I've last updated. Did you realize that in eight days I've managed to give you guys four chapters? I'm slightly proud of myself, I have to admit. **

**I'm ecstatic that people have actually decided to read and review this story, despite my warnings. You're all so fantastic, I can't even describe how stupid my face is whenever I get a review. It's this mix of "Really, **_**another **_**crazy person decided to read this story?" and "OH MY GOSH YES I GOT ANOTHER REVIEW I LOVE ALL OF YOU PEOPLE!" Too much enthusiasm? Sorry, I really do enjoy reviews. I just thought I'd let you know that. **

**This isn't as long as the last chapter, sorry! I capped out at five thousand words, I really didn't know what else to say at that point. This is an interesting chapter I think, or at least, I hope so. I enjoyed writing it, I hope you enjoy reading it. I'm officially rambling. Just read the disclaimer and continue on with your lives. **

**Disclaimer: Despite my many attempts, I still do not own Twilight. Kidding, I haven't attempted once, but now that I mention it, it sounds like a good idea. Who knows? Maybe next time I let a chapter out, I won't have to do a disclaimer. I'll take over Twilight, and then the world! (Insert evil laughter here) **

**I've clearly had way to many coffee's today. **

_**Chapter five: Dude, I haven't fallen like that since the fifth grade! **_

"The surgery is in a week, Bells. I can call the school if you want; we can fly you back home for a week or two to spend with your old man." He whispered into the phone. He added a chuckle to make the sentence sound more lighthearted, but I knew he was serious. I felt my heart break slightly as I blinked back the moisture that was gaining in my eyes.

He misses me, and oh man, did I miss him too.

My Dad was scared for this surgery, and I couldn't be home to help him. No matter what he believed, I wasn't at boarding school; I wasn't making friends and hanging out in the cafeteria. No, I had a career now, and this wasn't a career I could just leave for a few weeks. I put the phone to my shoulder as I tried to get myself under control. I didn't want him to hear how ragged my breathing was, or how choked up my voice sounded. I was doing what I needed us to do, and I'm not going to regret it. When I was finally under control, the other end of the line was silent. It felt like he was already resigned, like he knew the answer that was coming.

"I'm sorry Daddy," I murmured into the phone, the fact that I was sorry was the only true part of the sentence. "I can't, I have a few tests and projects this week that are really important towards my grades…" I trailed off. I felt even more horrible, thinking that Charlie thought I was putting school work before his health. The truth was, they'd sent all the paychecks of last month straight to the hospital, and we had enough with the insurance to cover the next surgery he needed. They were going to remove the cancerous cells from his lungs the best they could before attacking it in the other parts of his body. When he called me with the news, I was ecstatic. I was at least, until now. Because no matter what, I seemed to fail him somewhere that he needed me.

"It's okay sweetheart, don't worry about it. Your old man can do just fine without you holding his hand." It was like I could hear him winking at me through the phone, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I'll try and be there next time, Daddy. I promise." I pictured him smiling, it was a good image, and it made me smile brighter.

"Alright, I'll hold ya to that kid. So…?" he trailed off questioningly. I giggled a little in confusion.

"So… what? Are you officially losing it old man?" I teased him gently, he barked out a surprised laugh.

"So, what about hockey? You haven't even mentioned it yet, you're leaving me on the edge of my seat-or, well, the edge of my bed. Is the team good; are there some nice girls on it?" He asked, his voice taking on that relaxed tone it always did. Charlie and I could always talk about everything. He was one of my best friends, y'know? But when it came to hockey, it was like I was talking to my twin. He taught me everything I knew and made sure to hold nothing back.

We chatted for a bit longer; I lied through my teeth about the girl's hockey team at my 'school' and how awesome the coaches and players were. We were just in the middle of talking about my classes and the things I was learning when Alice and Rosalie burst through the door.

"Hey girl! You need to dish and _fast!_" Rosalie cried as she entered. _Always the drama queen… _

"Who's that?" Charlie demanded. The girls walked around to the couch and saw me giving them a sign to shut the hell up before I forced a smile, turning my attention back to Charlie.

"Oh, those are just some friends of mine; they never really did learn how to knock. Okay Dad, I've really gotta go. I'll give you a call tomorrow, okay? Love you!" I spouted in a rush, I waited as he chuckled, holding on desperately until he said,

"Love you too, kid. I'm glad you're having fun. Say hi to your friends for me!" I smiled in relief. He bought it. When I hung up the phone, I threw the pillow at Rose.

"You guys will blow this secret for me, I swear it." I cried, throwing the second pillow at Alice. Alice just brushed me off, giggling like she does and making herself comfortable on my couch. Rose, on the other hand, eyeballed me until I was nervous. When Alice had my attention, I felt the pillow connect with the side of my face. I whirled around, glaring at her before turning my attention back to the annoyingly pretty, bubbly girl.

"So Jasper and I have gone out practically every night since you gave him my number. Thanks for that, by the way. I think he really cares about me, you know? I think he genuinely likes being with me."She gushed happily, her eyes taking on a dazed look. At this, I smiled. Her bright blue orbs were shining in happiness and her teeth glowed against her porcelain face. I grinned, reaching over and fixing a strand of her hair that looked a little too crazy, even for Alice.

"Of course he does, Alice, why wouldn't he?" At that, she smiled softly. Her face dropped to her hands and the loud girl looked very… delicate.

"I'm really happy I met him, Bella. I'm really happy I met you."

"Me too, Bella. As crazy as all this is…" I turned to Rose when she spoke, and she emphasized her words by waving her arms around the room. I grinned, looking at my apartment and chuckling slightly. "It's an adventure, Bella. It's fun. Alice and I used to sit around in clubs and hang out all day. I know we've only known each other for a few months… but I'm glad I met you, I'm glad I gained another sister." She reached down and messed up Alice's hair, and Alice grabbed her wrist and held it to her, as if hugging her, as she reached across the couch and grabbed my hand as well. I felt my eyes start to water up as I looked up at them both, and I realized something important.

No matter what the outcome of this situation, they would be here for me, I was sure of that. I loved them both, because to me, they were sisters. They were the only family I had in this town and for that I was immeasurably grateful.

~Q~

"What were you thinking?!" He growled at me, throwing his stick to the ice and waving his hands at me in frustration. I glared right back, he wasn't being fair. He should've been open for that pass, if that _idiot _would play his position we wouldn't be in this mess!

"I was thinking that you should've supported me when I went for a rush, but you didn't, for some reason that I'm not aware of, and I'm sure doesn't make any sense, you decided to follow me up the ice! Leaving, how many defense hanging back? Oh yeah, none!" I cried, my voice dripping in attitude. This man was getting on my last nerve. How someone could be so amazing one minute and such a dick the next was absolutely beyond me.

"We have a game in one week, and if you want to play…" he threatened. I halted, my breath completely being taken out of my lungs. My eyes flashed back to when I signed the contract,

"_Okay, so, the amount of pay you'll receive will be a direct correlation to how much you play. You receive the baseline two hundred and fifty thousand, but if you end up playing the same amount as one of the players who's been in this club longer, we'll be inclined to pay you more. If you play more, that means you've been playing well, and that means we might want to keep you around. The owners are very interested in you, Bobby, and the better you play the more cash they'll drop in your hands." Peter said, but I didn't really care about the rest. As soon as he mentioned my baseline, I had the pen in my hands so fast I felt like the Flash. _

"_I said _do you understand?" He demanded me. I blinked once, zoning back in and focusing my attention back to Edward. I nodded my head slowly, rubbing the back of my neck in frustration and closing my eyes.

I can't afford to mess up.

"Yeah." I whispered, not meeting his eyes. "Yeah, I get it." He frowned at my response, he looked like he wanted to say something more after seeing my reaction, but I skated to the bench, motioning for the next defense line to come on. Edward skated after me, hopping the boards while I opted for the door. We both sat in silence, drinking Gatorade and getting hydrated. After about a minute, he took a deep breath and bumped my shoulder.

"Look Bobby, you did the play right. You just have to make sure I don't mess up too. Yeah, I wasn't in my fucking position, but that's going to happen in a game. You can't count on me to be perfect; you have to be prepared to cover for me too. That's what teammates do." I thought about this for a second, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. He _was _almost perfect. I can't even imagine him messing up badly. Except the last play, apparently.

"I need the playing time, Cullen, I'm sorry I messed up. Just, trust me enough to play me. I'm good enough, I _know _I am…" I trailed off, because nothing felt right anymore. I hoped I was good enough, I hoped I was fast enough, I hoped my shot would come through for me in a game, but I wasn't sure of anything right now. When I looked up at him again, he was looking at me curiously.

"Why do you want this so bad?" He finally asked me.

"Because I love playing hockey," I answered somewhat honestly, looking away from him to avoid the green of his eyes. It would do me no good to blush right now.

"That much is obvious." He mused, and I chuckled, swinging my legs over the boards at the same time he did.

Then, because of course it would happen, my skate got caught on the boards, and I flipped onto the ice. Loudly. Edward turned around and barked out a surprised laugh before completely losing his composure. He fell to the ice chuckling, and soon the whole team were grabbing their stomachs in laughter pain as my face turned as red as a tomato, I struggled to compile my composure as Emmett skated up to me, laughing obnoxiously.

"Dude, I haven't fallen like that since the fifth grade!" he crowed, punching the side of my head jokingly. Sam Uley skated up, flipping up his goalie mask to grab a drink of water before eyeing Emmett humorously.

"Dude, you haven't been his size since the fifth grade." He commented. At this, the chuckles started again. I rolled my eyes, snorting.

_Men. _

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. Don't we have a game in a week?" I demanded, getting the puck and shooting it across the ice to hit Jasper in the shoulder. He turned around and threw me a wink, calling for everyone to get into their positions again. They all threw me apologetic smiles; I couldn't help but laugh a little with them.

Rookie mistake, oh well, shit happens. We all skated back into our positions, and I leaned forward in anticipation of the puck dropping. I put my weight on my stick, I eyed the other players, and I smiled a slow, devilish smile.

Yeah, I did love this game.

~Q~

I snuck through the arena doors, doing my best to remain completely silent as I tiptoed through the massive building. I peeked around every corner, unlocking door after door as I approached the locked ones. When I reached the last door, I took a deep, calming breath before gaining the nerve to open it.

_Another stupid risk, Bella, another stupid mistake. _And yet, the voice of common sense in my head was ignored by the pounding blood in my ears as I tugged on the door handle. I smiled slightly to myself as I did.

It was unlocked.

When I pulled it open, I heard the distinct sound of blades hitting the ice; I heard that beautiful noise of a hockey stick connecting with a puck at a rapid speed. I was quiet, silently creeping onto the home team bench and leaning over the boards, watching him play. I didn't bother to hide really; I just didn't make my presence known. I didn't bother to hide my face from him today or to shy away; it really didn't matter at this point. He already knew who Isabella was.

_I just have to make sure that the next time he sees me as Bobby, he'll have no way of connecting our two faces. Or, our face, I guess. _

_My face. Not our face, my face. Jeez, Bella, you really are losing it…_

I watched him as he trained. I watched his muscles flex and his body bend as he shot the puck and skated hard. I watched as he stretched and swore whenever he messed up. I smiled; I couldn't tear my eyes away from him. He was, without a doubt, unbelievably sexy. His sex hair, his muscles, his drive when he's playing, everything about him.

Then, with a giggle, I watched him lose his skate edge and go tumbling towards the ice. My giggle immediately stopped when I realized his body was frozen, he wasn't moving. I raced to open the door when he started chuckling, his hands escaping from his gloves to run over his face. I let out a deep gust of air and wanted to yell at him in frustration. Don't scare me like that, Edward.

"Hey, could you throw me my water?" he called, tipping his head back on the ice to look at me. I froze under his gaze.

_Busted. _I couldn't find the muscles to move again until his shining teeth made their presence known, his smiling lighting up his face as he directed it at me. Awh, someone's trying to be cute.

"Psh, lazy!" I called back to him in response with a grin on my lips. He sighed dramatically, but the man still didn't lift his body from the ice to quench his thirst. Instead, he just continued to lie there, seeming to enjoy the feel of the cool ice on his back. His shirt wasn't very thick, and it clung to every ridge and muscle in his body. Every. Single. One.

I wasn't going to complain.

I reached down into the backpack I brought and pulled out my skates. I quickly laced them onto my feet before reaching for his Gatorade bottle and slowly skating over to him. I circled him once, twice, before I slowly came to a stop by his head.

"Oh, so, is this the water bottle you wanted?" I asked innocently, batting my eyelashes at him and holding it just too high for his horizontal figure to reach. He smirked challengingly, nodding his head slowly in response to my question. I sighed, skating a few feet back from him again before coming up behind him and dripping three very cool drops of water directly on his forehead.

His gasp was loud and my satisfaction was high as I erupted in a set of giggles. I almost felt bad when I looked at the shocked expression on his face, but soon that open mouthed surprise turned into a very confident crooked grin. His hands shot out before I could balance myself and tugged on my skate blades. I had no traction on the cool ice and he dragged me forward towards him. Then, in one swift movement while still holding my eyes, the asshole tripped me.

I shrieked loudly as I fell into his awaiting arms. He caught me as if I weighed nothing, even though I weighed a lot for my height and build. I worked hard for this muscle and I was damn proud of it, but when someone is staring at you so seriously it's hard to be confident. We both seemed a little surprise when I landed in his lap, our faces mere inches from each other. I'd like to say it was like a movie moment. You know? Our faces were inches apart; his breath was sweet in my face, my hands tangled in his hair as he gripped the back of my neck, crashing our lips together in a passionate and romantic lip lock in the middle of the Boston Gardens arena.

Yes, I'd like to say that was what happened. Sadly enough, that was not the case.

We were both so surprised that he caught me, my eyes widened and his eyes widened, my butt hurt from landing on his strong leg and I'm sure his leg hurt from supporting my butt. I didn't know whether or not I wanted to punch him or kiss him. But, there was another emotion that won our entirely, our laughter. We both just sorta stared at each other, it only lasted a few seconds before the chuckles and the giggles started. My high pitched giggle filling the arena and his soft chuckle before our eyes met again, and the real laughter ensued. It was one of those uncontrollable laughs, where one of you finally calm down, you take a deep breath, and then you suddenly chance a look at the other person laughing and your laughing fit decides to start all over again. So that's what we did. Instead of having a romantic kiss like I would've liked, we rolled around the freezing cold ice like insane buffoons. Yeah, I'm sure I would've liked being kissed, but I _loved _laughing with Edward Cullen. We sounded absolutely crazy, tears rolled down our cheeks. I wasn't even sure what we were laughing at anymore, but I can tell you one thing for sure, it felt really good to laugh freely again. Really good.

When we both finally calmed down for good, I chucked his water bottle at him.

"Is that any way to treat a water girl?"I asked, playing the eyelash card again as I batted them in a way my Dad was a sucker for. Apparently Edward was too, because I saw a small flash of unnecessary guilt flash before his eyes before he shook it off, his eyes glaring at me but his lips carrying a smile I know was honest.

"Is that any way to treat a man who risked life and limb to bring you food?" He shot back, causing me to cock my head in confusion. He stood up, motioning for me to stay where I was as he skated back to the boards and off the ice.

"Sure, why not? I love lying down on freezing cold _ice!" _I called after him jokingly. I heard his laugh from where I was and I let myself lean back, relaxing onto the ice as I smiled.

Surprisingly, it actually was kind of comfortable.

With my eyes closed and my hands under my head, making myself comfortable, I heard his blades touch the ice again and start skating towards me. I chanced opening one eye and taking a peek at him, and I saw he was carrying a bag in his hand. Takeout food…?

Italian food! He remembered…

"You said this stuff was your favorite, right? I fucking _love _Italian everything, so I figured this would be good too." He explained. My smile felt like it was splitting my face.

"Italian _everything_?" I teased. He nodded, wagging his eyebrows at me before opening the containers of the best looking Italian takeout ever. Ah, the joys of having money. Before we set everything down he reached into his bag, pulling out an old Boston Bruins jersey and laying it down like a picnic blanket.

"There, now I can get to know you over dinner." He said cockily, taking a massive bite out of his order and handing me a fork. I laughed as the sauce went all across his face, handing him a napkin as he smiled sheepishly. I smiled back, ducking my head self-consciously as he kept staring at me. I felt my face heat and I ducked even more, trying to hide it.

"Look, the confident girl can blush," he murmured, his hand reaching up to swipe my warm cheek, causing me to blush further. I shifted self-consciously, shooting him an embarrassed look before he smiled back at me. There was something so nice in his smile, so strong, so comforting. When I managed to hold my head up fully, taking another bite of the delicious food from heaven, he decided to start with the interrogation.

"When did you start playing hockey?" He asked first, I told him when I was two years old I started to skate. He nodded his head, thinking of another through a bite full of noodles.

"Why did you really come here the first day, how'd you get in here?" I set my bite of food down, grabbing a napkin and wiping my mouth thoughtfully before thinking of an answer.

_Tread carefully, Bella, but make it as honest as possible. _

"I always wanted to be the best," I murmured quietly. "You can't be the best if you don't train, so that's what I was going to do. I just moved here a little while ago, and I was practicing in one of the local arenas, you know, the one off Fourth Street? But the night guard caught me and kicked me out. For some reason, I haven't been kicked out of here yet, so I'll keep coming back until I do." He didn't look as if he believed me.

"That's not the entire story, is it?" He asked quietly, his eyes boring into mine. He could see right through me.

"No, not the entire story, but that's the only story you're going to get." I replied honestly, fiddling with my hands and pushing the food around in the little carton. I know it was irrational, but I felt bad.

_You're a liar, Bella. No one cares about liars. _

"Hey," he said softly, trying to get my attention. I didn't look up at him, thoughts of Charlie racing through my mind. I had to lie, I didn't have a choice, and I just wish someone could understand that… "Hey, Bella, it's okay. I'm not going to push you, everyone has their secrets." He said softly. I looked up at him in surprise, his hair sticking up everywhere and his green eyes filled with nothing but concern.

_Oh Edward, what have you gotten yourself into? Hanging out with a girl like me will bring you nothing but trouble._

Looking up into his sincere eyes, I couldn't help but smile softly at him, my body relaxing and my heard starting to beat erratically.

"Thanks, for understanding." I whispered, holding his gaze. He nodded.

"I'll always try and understand." We had gotten closer over the duration of the conversation, and now his face was mere inches from mine. Our food forgotten, his hand cupped my chin; his eyes searched mine as if asking for permission. My eyes dropped to his lips in response, my heart beating like crazy.

_This is a bad idea, a very, very bad idea! _My mind screamed at me, but my heart wasn't in agreement. In fact, my heart thought that this was a very, very good idea. My eyes closed, my body leaned in, his breath was sweet on my face and then-

A door opened somewhere. My eyes flew open in alarm and his did too. We raced to grab everything and we crawled across the ice on our stomachs, that way our blades wouldn't make any noise. We got to the edge of the boards and we ducked behind them, our breath quick, my heartbeat flying.

_He was going to kiss me. Edward Cullen was going to kiss me. _

I looked to him worriedly as we heard a man shuffling around right behind the boards we were using for cover. Edward motioned for me to stay down as he chanced a peek at who was in the rink with us. When he wasn't looking, I let out a deep breath that I had been holding since our faces were millimeters apart. We were too close, too quickly.

_What're you thinking, Bella? Emmett said he was a ladies' man. That should've been your warning. He isn't really interested in you; he's interested in the female gender as a whole. Emmett said he has a girlfriend every other week. Don't let yourself be just another girl. You could ruin your professional career in the process, and you can't let that happen. _

"It's just the janitor; he's looking for something… keys I think he's saying?" I barked out a surprised laugh, digging my stolen key ring from my pocket and holding it up for him to see. He looked down at me in alarm, and I realized that the keys jingled when I moved them. The janitor turned and looked as I ducked down quickly. Edward started tearing his skates from his feet as the janitor ran across the rink to us. I did the same, slipping them off just in time for the man to open the door to the ice. Edward and I raced across the ice in our socks as the janitor raced across on his shoes. Me and Edward were side by side as we ran as fast as we could, I looked back just in time to see the janitor stumble. I slid to a stop for a second, Edward calling my name to hurry up. I waited until the janitor was on his feet. Knowing that the man was okay, I started running again. With our skates in hand we ran back to the doors that I'd unlocked, pushing through each of them as we lost the janitor.

Sorry bud, you can't beat the fitness level of a professional athlete.

We made it to the parking lot, both of us slightly breathless. When Edward looked at me, he laughed.

"You're too nice for your own good. If that guy would've caught us when you stopped, we both would've been in trouble." I frowned.

"I thought he was hurt!" I defended myself. "If he was hurt, it would've technically been my fault, so then I would've _had _to help him." He just looked at me funny, giving no response for a moment.

"What if you would've gotten in trouble? Or sued?" he asked after a moment. Was he actually not listening to me?

"Edward, what if he actually was _hurt? _Screw the money or the trouble, if he was hurt, you have to help him. He was just doing his job and we were breaking the law, if I would've got in trouble for helping the man that I technically injured in the first place, those are my consequences. You can't just leave a person that needs your help like that, that's just… wrong." He looked at me and I looked away.

_If I didn't have the money, people wouldn't help my father. I don't want to be like them, I don't want to be one of those people that turn a blind eye. If someone needs my help, they need my help. It's that simple. It'll come at no charge with any expectations. _

"You're different, Isabella." He murmured after a moment. I smiled sheepishly at him.

"Oh, yeah?"

"It's a good thing; I've been looking for different." At this, he flashed me that perfect crooked smile, the one that shows off his strong jaw, his high cheekbones, and his perfect teeth. His eyes light up in the most beautiful way and I couldn't help but step towards him. I raised my hand to cup his cheek and stood on my very tip toes. I turned his cheek towards mine and placed my lips on it, closing my eyes and lingering there for a second. In the dark parking lot, I felt like no one could see us, and I felt like he couldn't really see me either. It was ridiculous, but it gave me confidence.

"See ya, Cullen." I whispered in his ear before forcing myself to turn away from him. With my bag slung over my shoulder and my skates in hand, he was silent for a moment behind me. At first, I thought he might be upset that I kissed his cheek, but then I heard him call out.

"When will I see you again?!" He called after me. I turned to see the strong man looking slightly dazed. His hands running themselves through his hair and landing on the back of his neck. He looked sheepish, embarrassed, but… adorable. He looked like a kid again for a second.

It's weird; you look at these guys as they play games on TV. They look like men, they have careers, some make millions, but you forget that the average NHL player is in their late twenties. Edward Cullen was only twenty one years old. He was still college age; he was still a reckless, partying guy. Which was why I was so surprised when he looked like he genuinely wanted to see me again.

I don't want to be naïve, but I trust him.

"Whenever we find each other again!" I called back. The smiles that broke across our faces were wide. Mine almost hurt it was so big as I turned around and walked through the parking lot. I hid my truck in the back, that way Edward wouldn't be able to recognize it as Bobby's. I waited until his Volvo pulled out of the massive parking lot before I started my truck up. I was just about to leave the parking lot when I saw something had fallen where Edward was standing before. I put the truck in park and hopped out, picking up the piece of fabric and looking at it closely.

It was his jersey.

When I got back to my apartment, I slipped on some boy shorts and a sports bra to sleep in. I slid under the covers and held the jersey tight.

In a week, I'd have my very own jersey like this. Because in week, I would be playing my very first NHL hockey game. And needless to say, I was more nervous than anything. This is it, this will be the telltale game as to whether I can do this or not. As I closed my eyes, I dreamt of red and gold hair and bright green eyes.

**See? A little shorter than the last few chapters, sorry! But, I wanted to give you guys an update and the idea for this chapter came into my mind. I hope you enjoyed it, leave a review if you want to make me very, very happy! **


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